Inner Obstacle
by Edlama
Summary: Naruto had always thought that there were no secrets between Gaara and himself, but seeing the Kazekage kissing a man brings certains truths to the light...as well as hidden feelings. GaaraXOC, NaruGaa Main , Angst, Lemon
1. When the shit hits the fan

**Disclaimer****:**** Well, if I owned 'Naruto'… It would have been called 'Gaara'.**

**Note:**** My biggest and earnest thanks to my life-saviour and beta, ****Cardcaptor Eternity****!! Readers, she's the sole reason your eyes aren't bleeding and scorching from my run-on sentences, she saved Naruto from choking **_**between**_** sofa cushions, and prevented the Council Room to be invaded by **_**elephants**_**.**

**Everything that is running smoothly is due to her, and when it's not, it's because I was not a good girl and messed up her corrections. She's so awesome she's even beta-ing the Header Note. **

**Warnings****: Its more angsty than my precedent story, I'm afraid. But I'm a big softie, so I can tell you there will probably be a happy ending. Also, Naruto is a big jerk in this chapter… forgive him, he's upset!**

**Inner Obstacle**

Naruto was walking at a brisk pace in the Hokage tower, his red Kage robes billowing around him. All the various ninja he encountered stepped aside and respectfully bowed their heads while he bypassed them, his face serious and purposeful.

One of the biggest perks of being a Hokage, the blond shinobi thought, was that if people thought he was on important business, nobody dared to disturb him. Except for Sakura, of course (_'Naruto, don't "I have a meeting" me! Your appointment is supposed to – be - with me, baka!'_) or Ino ( _'What, sneaking off again?? And what about those reports I left on your desk, are they- hey, come back here!!'_) or Kiba, Shikamaru or the rest of the rookie nine (_'Important meeting? Sure, but Ichiraku Ramen will wait till I delivered my report to you, Hokage'_).

So all he had to do was to set his face in an "I'm busy" mask and walk like he had a destination to go to at once and, provided that he did not meet one of his childhood friends, people wouldn't question his wanderings habits. That was a really useful trick when he wanted to flee from his office or hide from the less glamorous and more boring aspects of Kage duties.

Like now, for instance.

Of course, "hiding" was probably not the best way to phrase it. It sounded certainly less dignified than "taking a brief and deserved respite from Kage duties, after single-handedly managing the most boring Council of Kage lived from history".

But since Naruto had promised the Raikage a private meeting during the one-hour pause this morning's Council was allowed, and balked at the last moment, hiding was probably more accurate.

However now, a little more of ten minutes after finally finding an unoccupied room to 'not-hide' in, you couldn't tell that Naruto was currently enjoying himself.

The blonde had thought that he would snatch Gaara away, and 'not-hide' with him and do the things they usually do in between Kage meetings, which was mainly gossiping shamelessly about the Mizukage's drinking habits or the leader of the Grass Country's outrageously young new lover.

But the young Kazekage had somehow slipped away as soon as the meeting was over and Naruto had not been able to trace his chakra signature, not that he had dare to wander to much, in case of an unwanted encounter with a Jounin from the Raikage's suite, or worse, with Ino Yamanaka (and what the fuck had crossed his mind to make such a harpy his personal assistant? Ah, yes, the Possession Jutsu, very useful thing, to know what went through the mind of various diplomats, that). So far, his recess period had been far less funny than originally planned.

Naruto stared through the window, pouting slightly. The room he was in was large and unoccupied, left away by both guests and more importantly, the ANBU, because of it's rather modest proportions, secluded position and complete lack of strategic interest, though it did offer a nice view of Konoha.

It was usually where the Hokage brought Gaara, so he went there in hopes that the redhead would find him eventually, even if he was currently sitting _behind_ the couch and not on it, just in case Yamanaka found him first.

Of course, hiding behind a couch was hardly enough for a trained shinobi and a true nosey person like Ino, thus Naruto was absentmindedly keeping his chakra as low as a small pin-head ball of energy, so unnoticeable that he himself would have trouble finding his own feet.

Naruto sighed. Fifteen minute into the recess, and still no Gaara. Of course, the redhead knew that he was occupied (or supposedly occupied) with the Raikage, so he wouldn't think of looking for him, but still, couldn't he _sense_, like a good friend, that Naruto was in dire need of a distraction?

That was one of the things Gaara was truly good at, usually. Naruto would need him, and the redhead would pop out of nowhere and either sit next to his friend in a companiable silence or talk with him (or rather, listen with a small smile while Naruto did most of the talking). They had developed a growing bond, first born from similar fates, then strengthening over shared hardships. Both being Kage had helped, too.

Over the years, the redhead had filled the gap left after Sasuke… after Sasuke. Naruto had discovered in the ex-jinchuuriki a soul that, for all its caustic attitude, was truly driven by a caring nature and the desire to protect his people and help them all, as well as sometimes 'get their collective heads out of their collective arse', as he would have said it.

He smiled fondly, thinking of how his stoic friend seemed to always know what was in his mind, even before the Hokage himself knew what was bugging him. Naruto knew that he was still the only one who could bring a smile on the Kazekage's lip, a real one, not the half smirk he gave to the rest of the world.

Well, maybe his siblings could, Naruto half-heartedly admitted. Gaara has considerably warmed up to them with the years. But he was one hundred percent sure he still was the only one who could make Gaara laugh. A sound that had first nearly startled Naruto to death (he had first though that the wheezing sound coming from the kazekage was due to asthma), he found it rapidly addictive and was now trying to make it happen as soon as possible (especially now that it had lost its wheezing quality to sound more normal).

That was why he looked forward to all the official meetings with the other Kage, rare as they were. In those moments they usually tried to spend all their free time in each other's company catching up, talking, drinking, and generally strengthening the unique bond they shared.

The current event taking place in Konohagakure was a big one scheduled to last a couple of weeks at least, because it was not so often that you can gather the most powerful leaders under the same roof (and without one of them wanting to blow it away, no less). The Hokage was the one leading it, meaning he was on a tighter schedule than the rest of the assembly but despite this, he had to forfeit only one evening with the Kazekage.

Naruto looked at his pocket watch, and grimaced. Twenty minutes into the recess. Well, he might as well give up on Gaara and try to find the Raikage now.

He was tensing his muscles to get up when he heard the door open and close, somewhat abruptly.

'_Shit! Ino!'_

He froze, and frantically clenched his chakra down.

But as he was trying to make one with the carpet, he noticed two things: first, that the person who has entered was suppressing its chakra as well, something Ino was not very good at when she was angry, and second, that judging from the sounds of the footsteps behind him, the person was actually _persons_.

He pondered for a moment as to what would they do in such an isolated room, when the sounds of laboured breathings and rustling of clothes gave him his answer. Naruto grinned. So he was about to witness a make-out session, wasn't he? Man, Jiraiya would have been so proud!

The soft panting grew slightly louder, and if Naruto was one to judge, they were coming from two very _masculine_ bodies. The Hokage bit his lips to prevent a chuckle. So, would he finally be able to confirm all those rumours about Raidou and Genma? Heh, he'd wait just a tiny moment before leaping from behind the sofa and embarrassing the hell out of-

A low moan escaped one of the men, and for a microsecond, chakra flared.

Naruto's smile was instantly wiped from his face. He felt as if his insides were clenched by an icy fist.

'_No, not him. It can't be...'_

Slowly, oh so slowly, as if to give time for the world to right itself, Naruto rose and finally turned to look at the two intruders.

They were both shirtless, and sprawled against the door as if they couldn't fucking wait to go fully inside to paw at each other.

One of them was tall, with a muscular chest and blue hair. Naruto dismissed him at once. His eyes were on his companion.

His smaller and slender companion.

With red hair.

With pale, smooth and flawless skin.

And a freaking Sand gourd lying at his feet, along with his discarded upper clothing.

'Gaara'

Just then, the blue haired man, whose disgusting hands were roaming all over the redhead's body, dipped his head to bite at the junction between his companion's neck and shoulder, and pushed their hips together.

Another moan escaped the smaller man, and he turned his head to give the man a better access to the pale column of his neck, offering a full view of his pleasure-flushed profile to Naruto.

'Fucking Gaara'

Naruto watched the quivering black eyelids, the hazy and unfocused blue orbs peeking behind them, the slightly parted lips and the red blush that was blossoming on his face, wholly resulting in a look that Naruto had never seen before.

He was so wrapped up in his own world that he did not realize he had released his hold on his chakra, which was now growing accordingly to his emotional turmoil.

He did not realize that the two men before him had frozen, both shocked by the unexpected burst of wild chakra and killing intent that had surged toward them.

He did notice, however, the blue-haired Jounin detaching himself from Gaara's neck and raising his head. Then the man met his eyes, paled and immediately took a step backward, hitting the door rather loudly in the process.

Gaara still has not moved.

Naruto knew that the redhead had recognized him from his chakra signature, and yet, was refusing to acknowledge him, a fact that both angered and darkly pleased the Hokage.

"_Probably too ashamed to meet my eyes now… and right he should be"._

He circled the sofa and slid toward the door, stopping only when he reached Gaara's level.

"My, my" he said in an overjoyed tone that was eons away from his normally cheerful one "I know that my dear 'friend'" he used the word to pour as much scorn as he could "the Kazekage, is dedicated body and soul to strengthening the bonds between the different villages, but Gaara…"

The redhead had finally turned his head to look at him, and he was even more angered by the blank gaze he was offered, the one usually reserved for everyone, but him.

The blond bent to pick up some of the discarded clothes.

"But Gaara… be careful not to cross the border of decency in the process and cause shame to your village"

He sighed and held up the clothes between his thumb and forefinger, as if they were dirty rags and not the blue and white Kazekage's robes.

"Well… too late for that I suppose." And he threw the robes in Gaara's face.

In two powerful strides, he was out of the room.

_NaruGaaNaruGaaNaruGaa__OMGGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaNaru_

It took a full minute for Nobuo Sasagawa, elite Jounin, captain of the Tsuchikage's personal guard, to regain enough of his frayed nerves and dress himself properly.

For the moment he recognized the chakra as the Leaf Leader's, and despite a killing aura so powerful that it had successfully froze him down, he had ceased to think that he was really in mortal danger, but when he had finally looked at the Hokage…

His eyes were bloody _red_.

And his lips were bared in a totally humourless smile that only served to show the bloody _fangs_ in his mouth.

So he stay frozen and did not say a thing when the Konoha Leader spoke –or rather, insulted- the Kazekage, and bypassed him to get to the door.

Of course, Nobuo has always known that the Rokudaime Hokage was a Jinchuuriki, a man-demon, but knowing it and actually witnessing evidence of it was totally different.

More frightening, for once.

Funny how till now he had thought of Naruto Uzumaki as a powerful shinobi, but an easy going and laidback kind of guy, something that in the eyes of the Jounin, made him nearly harmless. Well, that certainly was a mistake, like thinking that he was too nice to be a true homophobic and certainly not the kind to sprout a malevolent aura like acid fumes at the sight of two guys with their hand in each other's pants.

Putting the last of his clothes –his Jounin vest- back in place, he turned toward the Kazekage (he will never be able to think of him as 'Gaara' outside of bed, and never before he had been in a less bedroom-like mentality than now) for parting words which then died in his throat.

The Kazekage had not moved at all. He was still half-undressed, with no top and his fly opened. His eyes were completely empty, and he was clutching the blue and white robes in his hand.

Nobuo felt a twinge of pity in his chest. The young man did not deserve to be treated that way, it obviously affected him, and he looked so young and... small? No, wait, he was not getting smaller, he was sinking on his knees.

Before the Mist nin's eyes, the redhead slowly burrowed his face in the kage's robes and yelled. And the jounin who had stayed still faced to Naruto's wrath, fled from the anguish in that cry.

_NaruGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaOMGGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaNaru_

At the end of a day that had to be the most bizarre of her whole career as the Hokage's assistant, Ino Yamanaka really thought that she had faced too many emotions in the scope of one afternoon.

First, she had been angry when she had realized that Naruto was once again skirting off his duties, and hiding away from her like a guilty schoolboy caught skipping classes.

Then she had panicked when she felt a burst of chakra like no other coming from a deserted part of the building. She had raced toward it, thousands of frightening hypotheses running in her head as to why her Hokage was reacting that way. Was he under attack? Hurt?

Relief was very short-lasted, flooding when she spotted him alive and visibly not pursued nor surrounded by enemies, and retreating at once when she realized that the atypical chakra was still rolling off him in waves. And then she saw his eyes. Red.

Fear had been immediate, and was still there, though it was now also mixed with wariness and confusion. Still, she followed her boss, who had stormed back in the Council's Room. He was seated when she entered, and his eyes were back to their original sky blue, though his face was unusually set. Even so, and despite him being half an hour early before the Council was due to resume, she took her place behind him.

Slowly the Room began to fill with dignitaries. Ino saw a man from the Raikage's suite trying to approach Naruto, a frown on his face, and –probably- reproaches about the failed private meeting on the tip of his tongue, but suddenly the Raikage –a Genjutsu prodigy of mere 14 years old- held his arm out, effectively stopping the man.

After a puzzled glance at his master, the diplomat relented and sat back down. Ino started breathing again; truth be told, she was not sure that the Hokage was stable enough to be bothered right now; she could still feel his chakra going on and off.

On the other hand, the fact that the Raikage had noticed Naruto's inner turmoil was not good news, because it meant that most of the people in the room noticed it too, which was a diplomatic faux pas. Of course, the faces of the three other Kage were complete masks of blank politeness, but there was a telltale nervous shifting from their respective shinobi.

As time went by, the air seemed to fill more and more with tension. Everyone in the room now had picked up the peculiar atmosphere and traced it back to the Hokage's chakra pattern.

Tension soon changed to nervous shifting as time trickled by, and the obvious lateness of the Sand's delegation was beginning to weight on everyone's mind.

Finally, when Ino was nearly sure she would burst with the tension of it all; the Council Room's double doors opened one last time to the Kazekage and his Jounin Guard.

Gaara looked the same as usual, and only Ino, who knew him well, could notice the slight tightening around his lips and eyes, and how he looked stiffer than usual.

Of course, body language reading was completely overrated here, since as soon as the Kazekage passed the door, Naruto emitted an angry spike of chakra, as perceptible for the assembly as the sound of a plate crashing to the floor.

The mind-reader Jounin groaned internally. Now everyone and their neighbour could surely pinpoint the source of Hokage's displeasure as the Kage from Suna, who normally was the closest ally of the Leaf. Great. She could just visualize the diplomatic turmoil of the coming days. Now she only had to hope that nothing serious was behind it.

She eyed him warily as the redhead took his seat seemingly without noticing everything, but really avoiding looking in the Hokage's direction.

Shortly after that, Naruto announced, between clenched teeth and with eyes that were burning a hole in the wall somewhere next Gaara's head, that the afternoon session was opened.

Fear had taken hold, and would not let go.

-- TBC --

**Voilà! Yeah, Naruto is a meanie… he'll get better I promise… but maybe slightly worse beforehand… OO**

**Constructive criticisms are more than welcome, and reviews make me more creative, I swear!**


	2. Past and Present Help

**Ha, ha. Hello everyone, sorry for the wait! sheepish I really thought I would be faster to update but that chapter was very long and there was 'The Wonder of Wanking' to finish and there was ****NaruGaa Day fic to write and there was my beta's birthday fic to write too and then I had to feed a lost dolphin… ahem.**

_Cardcaptor Eternity: I know you're busy, but telling lies will make your nose grow. Lol_

**Once again, a BIG THANKS to my beta CardcaptorEternity, who tackled this monster of a chapter without complaints (well, except about my grammar of course, but those are usual, big chappie or not). And if there are any remaining mistakes, it's because I did not follow her directions. Or forget to. **

_Actually, her grammar is getting a lot better!! I'm proud of my pet –ahem- I mean my friend._**:D**

**Story Notes:**

**Tsuchikage (Nobuhiro ?) leader of Iwagakure, the Hidden Village of Stone**

**Mizukage (Jiishin Saemon) leader of Kirigakure, the Hidden Village of Mist**

**Raikage (Kosuke ?) leader of Kumogakure, the Hidden Village of Cloud**

… **If I had to remember you who the two remaining are, well, it's not too late to hit the 'backward' button. **_She means to write 'remind', not remember. _**Ed: \slaps forehead/ D'oh!**

**According to my English/Japanese translator (and you know how fickle those things are), On'jin means something along the line of "The Protector".**

_Chapter 2:Present and Past Help_

Shortly after the end of the Kage meeting, the leader of Kirigakure no Sato was found heading towards her rented rooms, seemingly lost deep in thoughts, and flanked by a –mandatory in those events- Jounin guard.

Jiishin Saemon was one of the legendary Swordsman, a fact that never failed to amuse her since _she_ was actually a woman, but she had always appreciated humour, especially in the form of irony, so she never try to modify that title.

She had been the Mizukage for the past 18 years, and as such she had known lots of difficult times when dealing with the other countries of the shinobi world, but she had to admit that it was the first time she actually felt that troubled over a meeting that had only pacific purposes.

Truth be told, the last years have been rather peaceful. This was partly due to the downfall of Akatsuki and its leaders, who were more or less behind half of the moves made by the underworld shinobi organization.

But it was mostly due to the fact that shortly after that, the Godaime had stepped down from the role of Hokage and announced Uzumaki Naruto to replace her. The immediate consequence had been that the alliance between Suna and Konoha, which was strong before, was now nearly unbreakable.

It had taken only a couple of meetings between the Kage and various Country Leaders to realize that the bond between the Kazekage and the Hokage ran so deep that it made them impenetrable to all the forms of manipulation, greed or bribery which could lead a country leader to switch alliances. And so, having the two most powerful shinobi nations nearly acting as one on a military level has made the others _extremely_ cautious with diplomatic.

And there was Naruto Uzumaki himself. That man ... was like no other. At first, she had truly wondered if Slug had finally lost her marbles, seeing how the boy seemed to have absolutely no idea of how politics, economy, diplomacy or even basic table manners work. He also had a straightforward mind that was a total handicap in a profession that asked to have a mindset more like a demented corkscrew. Not to mention that he used words like "trust" and "friends" which were normally beaten out of every diplomat-in-training's head within the first hour of the first lesson at school.

Despite this, she found herself paying more and more attention to him. His sweet madness was somehow contagious, and it seems that he was possessed with the gift of making people share his views, little by little, however far from the original goals they were. Maybe it was due to his endearing honesty and total lack of artifice, but the Mizukage soon realized that she, well, sort of trusted him. Even the Tsuchikage, an old man she would have sworn had been carved directly in solidified cynicism, deception and deceitfulness, seemed to appreciate the young man. That was the power of Uzumaki's special charm.

And it was part of why she was so anxious today. She had grown to like the boy, and his actions back at the meeting had made no sense. For once, he had been angry, and though he was quite the temperamental kind, his bouts of anger rarely reached that intensity, or quality. And second, he had been angry at _Gaara_, which had never been heard of before.

Her thoughts were interrupted just as she caught a whiff of two chakra signatures coming from the suite offered by the Hokage. She paused and put her hand on the guard of On'jin, the five foot sword that never left her side.

Then she smiled a bit, recognizing the two entities that were not really hiding in her room. It seemed that she was not the only one to be worried there. She dismissed with a wave of her hand her personal guard, and entered her rooms.

The Tsuchikage was sitting in one of the armchairs, and gave her a benevolent smile. She snorted. Not buying his act of grandfatherly figure for a moment, she asked:

"Where's the brat?"

"Over here" said one of her other armchairs.

She looked at the furniture where the outlines of a young boy began to appear. She took a seat, and when she turned toward them a pale, wispy boy with light blond hair and yellowish eyes was looking at her. The Tsuchikage watched him with interest, then made a small hand gesture.

The Raikage looked at the kunai that was seemingly sticking out of his chest. "That was not very nice" he commented off-handedly.

"Neither is doing Genjutsu on us." The Mizukage answered in the same tone. "Where's the real you?"

"I was speaking about your way of treating the Hokage's furniture." His hand went through his chest, pulling at the Kunai that was indeed half-buried into his seat. "But I note that you have still have your –infamous- sword at your side and…" he titled his head toward the old man "… he still has his staff".

"Touché" smirked the Tsuchikage. "But you can keep an eye on both my staff and Jiishin's sword, whereas the basis of your little 'trick' is the ability to slice our throats from behind, unnoticed 'til the last second."

The Raikage opened his mouth to reply with an –undoubtedly- equally smart-ass answer, but the Mizukage, already bored with their bantering, interrupted him.

"As pleasant as your company is, boys," Both 'boys' turned equally sour glares on her, "I doubt you're here for pointless chit-chat. What do you want to talk about?"

The Raikage raised his pale eyebrows. "Were you actually_ there_ during today's meeting? You know, the one in which the Konoha Leader tried his best to assassinate with his eyes his first ally, the Kazekage? Nobody knows what it was about, so we obviously need to act together to gather some information…"

"Actually," This time it was the Iwa Leader who interrupted the Raikage. " I already know 'what it was about', as you said, and I merely came to share my data."

"You already know?" said the Cloud Leader, aghast at the apparent efficiency of the old man's secret services.

"You're offering to _share_ the info?" said the Mist Leader, watching his older counterpart as if his white barb was about to sprout roses. "My, Nobuhiro, you've grown soft in your old days."

The Tsuchikage frowned. "I have it from the Head of my Personal Guard, who…directly witnessed the incident."

The Mizukage leaned towards him a bit. For a second, she would have sworn that the old man was looking uncomfortable.

"Well? What did little Nobuo see?" She asked, remembering that his Head of Security was the old Kage's nephew, and as such she had known him for years.

The Tsuchikage rose from his seat and walked toward the windows that were offering a beautiful view of the sun setting on Konoha. The two other Kages exchanged a baffled look. The paranoid old man must have been really troubled to turn his back on them during a discussion, offering not only a better opportunity to stab him in the back, but also missing the chance to witness their reaction to what he would say.

"It appears that Nobuo has been entertaining…a carnal relationship with the Kazekage of Suna."

Jiishin felt her eyes widen like saucers. Before her, the Raikage let out a very undignified teenage guffaw, then put his hand over his mouth with a wince.

"And," Now the old man looked distinctively uncomfortable "it appears that the Hokage walked on them during their last sexual intercourse."

"Holy shit," she breathed. "You think that's what set him off? Is he some kind of homophobe?" She didn't know why, but the idea made her slightly nauseous.

The youngest of the Kage shook his head. "Can't be. Hyuuga Hinata, who works as Uzumaki's link with the Daimyo's court, is involved with the Fifth's assistant, Shizune. Why would he take a lesbian to work closely with him if gay people are ticking him off?"

The Tsuchikage answered tiredly "Men react different to lesbians than to gay males. Who knows? Maybe it's exciting him and he's harboring some hope of having sex with her one day. The Hokage is known for being quite the lady's man, after all."

"Did you set that up?" Jiishin asked harshly. Thinking about it, it was very odd that the ever-knowing leader of Iwa would ignore something of that importance. It was even stranger considering that it involved both his own nephew and closest Jounin, and the leader of one Shinobi Nation. Now if that was his doing…

"No." Nobuhiro's eyes darted back toward the window. He seemed embarrassed again, which actually convinced the Mizukage that he was, for once, being honest. Her fellow Kage had no problem lying through his teeth while looking straight in her eyes. It was telling the truth that appeared to cause him trouble. "He succeeded in carrying on this affair right under my nose." There was some slight pride in his voice. "I would never have agreed to such a folly, even for spying purposes. Human emotions are too unreliable."

The Cloud leader sighed. "Back to the Hokage, I can't believe him to be homophobic. That just doesn't suit his temperament. If they're as close as they always seem to be, maybe he was angry because the Kazekage did not tell him or…" his yellowish eyes widened. "Maybe they have an affair of their own, and Uzumaki is jealous?"

The Mizukage rubbed her face in her hands. "I think it might be a bit of both, actually. But whatever their reasons are, what should we do about it?"

"What do you mean 'what do we do about it?'" The Tsuchikage had turned toward her. "Why do you want us to mingle in their affairs?"

"Well…" the woman looked up at him, slightly surprised. "Isn't that what we do on a regular basis? Mingling in other nation's business is basically on the job description, Nobu. And if you haven't noticed," she added "Suna and Konoha's treaty of alliance is at risk here."

"Which is a good thing" the old man stated decisively. "In case you haven't noticed" he mimicked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I can't say that I'm overjoyed that such powerful ninja villages are joined at the hips. Too much power resides within those two, Jiishin. Even the Damyo are listening to them. Whenever they talk now, Iwa has to follow their lead, and so do Kumo and Kiri. But what's good for them is not necessarily good for us."

"But they bring peace!" interjected the Mizukage, slightly troubled. "Shit, Nobu, I'm not always happy either but ever since Uzumaki took the Hokage position there's been no big fights between our villages!"

The Iwa leader turned toward her, his expression scornful. "And what good can peace bring to a Shinobi World, woman?"

"We're bound to disappear." The Raikage piped up, his voice low. "What use is it to keep such a huge number of shinobi for menial tasks like guarding, plant picking or escorting? Our Clans, Secret Jutsu and Bloodlines will be wasted, no longer needed, to be replaced by merchants." He looked at the swordswoman. "You can see that. It has already begun."

She stared back at him, at a lost about what to say, her mind in turmoil. They were right; peace was the biggest enemy for a Ninja Nation. They could not inhabit the same space and timeline, the settling of one meant the disappearance of the other. The clans wouldn't try as hard to best each others on the battlefield, preferring to establish their dominance on economic or political fields. The Ninja would grow lazy, and would slowly forget about kekkai gekkai and shinobi ways, ready to be absorbed by civilian life.

As the Leader of Kiri no Sato, one of the Five Shinobi Nations, as the Head of a famous clan, and as the bearer of thousands of ancestral shinobi techniques, it would be insane for her to think about following that path.

But…

"_She was breathing heavily. The air reeked of smoke, and blood, and the wound on her leg now stung so much –poison on the blade?- that she could barely stand on it. Yet she bent and pushed the bangs out of her sister's face. Her eyes were blank, devoid of the mirth that usually shone within them. There was no emotions on her face as well, not even the surprise she had seen when the sword had struck her side._

_Her Captain materialized next to her. _

'_Any rebels left?' he asked._

_She took one last look at her deceased sister's face, and putting both hands on the handle of her sword, she pulled. The blade left her sister's body with a wet sound that would still resonate clearly in her mind decades afterward. _

'_Not anymore' she breathed."_

But…

"_She watched as the academy teachers cleaned and re-arranged the bodies of the children, before letting the parents take them back. It was the standard procedure, except that they were twice the usual number. She noticed that a good portion of the bodies had been rather dismembered, the mark of a highly effective, but inexperienced killer._

_She gazed down at one of the corpses. A pre-teen with dark hair and a freckled face. He could have looked peaceful, merely sleeping, but in reality he just looked very dead, lying here in the gymnasium he had been training in with his school friends not a year ago._

'_Momoshi Zabuza, eh? I wonder who he is, to be able to kill all his comrades like that.' She said._

_Not seeing the rhetorical, one teacher answered, his tone laced with approval. _

'_A very good shinobi'"_

But…

"'_I think we got them all, Mizukage-sama!'_

_She nodded and approached the sad heap of corpses that had once been the feared Kaguya Clan. She pulled up the head of Toshimaro, the leader, and looked at his face. Death had washed away all traces of the insane arrogance and bloodlust that had pushed him and his people to declare war to an entire Ninja village. His face was just the expressionless, stiff mask of the dead. She released her hold on his hair and he fell back with a thump._

_She turned toward her Jounin. 'Burn them.' "_

But…

She was the Kage of the Country with the bloodiest history ever told. She survived Succession War, Civil War, World War and just plain War. She had witnessed the consequences of it enough times and for long enough.

Yet she had hoped, after the relative stability of the past years, and the nominations of three young, and for two of them, peace-thriving Kage. Hoped for a new kind of world, one that wouldn't drive entire clans to seek battles until extinction, one that wouldn't lead children to massacre others and gain approval for it, one that wouldn't bring relatives to kill each other. Silly, surprising hope that had entered her heart, a heart she had thought to be too maimed by a lifetime of killing or ordering people to kill.

She watched the two men, her resolve hardening. The Raikage had a good part of his family annihilated because their lands had the misfortune of being not too far from a perpetually mutating border with Grass. The Tsuchikage had seen his own mother sacrificed and his brother offered as a receptacle for the Gobi, in hopes of increasing the young Iwa Nation's military power, and was rumoured to have wiped out half of the dignitaries responsible of that decision in retaliation afterward.

The Mizukage smiled. And here they were thinking of deliberately spitting in peace's face. There lies insanity.

"Stay out of it if you want." She said simply. "But I have pirate raids threatening my coasts, so I really can't afford for Suna and Konoha to create havoc now."

Both men stared at her, their faces set in the usual diplomatic mask. Then the Raikage spoke:

"The new commercial road" he stated "between Suna, Konoha, Oto and Kumo is bringing us a lot of interesting economic prospects. I'd hate to have it go to waste right now."

Jiishin gaped a bit. She had not expected her youngest counterpart's support on that point, since boys (especially the younger ones) were rather belligerent. She turned hopefully toward Nobuhiro, who rolled his eyes at her.

"And I suppose," He sighed "that I've got my hands full with that budding terrorist organization that very much wants to blow up my mountains. Having to watch out for Suna and Konoha would be too much trouble." He glares at the Mizukage from the corner of his eyes, then shook his head and sighted. "I hope you realize what you're asking from us, woman."

Jiishin beamed at him. "Don't worry about it, _old man_. I'm sure it will be worth the risk."

"Then, what do we do?" That was from the Raikage.

"Basically, nothing." The Swordswoman answered him. She raised her hands when both men opened their mouths. "That is, nothing until we learn a bit more about why Uzumaki made such a fuss. We agree that their friendship is strong, and that the kid has the tendency to blow a fuse rather quickly. We just need to not get in their way until they cool off."

She turned towards the Tsuchikage. "Still, it would be best if you could persuade your nephew to stay away from the Kazekage until the end of the meeting. No need to search for more trouble."

The old man growled. "You think I wait for your advice on that point? I told my nephew to keep his privates to himself, or he and them were all going to be sent home. In separate directions." He added with a smirk.

Jiishin snorted. "Well, that's good. Kosuke?" the young Kumogakure leader met her gaze. "Could you keep an eye on them both? Your spies are the most efficient out there, but for the sake of discretion…"

"I'll do it myself" he cut. "Will that be all?"

"Well, we also must try our best to not leave them alone together for at least a couple of days, which would be the amount of time needed for Uzumaki's anger to deflate a bit. He'll butcher things up even further if he tries to talk to Gaara while still angry."

"Then I'm going to keep watch." The Raikage rose from his seat, and abruptly vanished.

The Tsuchikage grunted. "I hate when he does that. Show-off." And he proceeded to melt through the floor.

The Mizukage watched them leave, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

'_Maybe there's hope for all of us, after all.'_

NaruGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaOMGGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaNaru

Gaara knew that holing himself in his suite right after the Council's session was not the best option. The only way to cope with the events of the afternoon was to find an escape from all the thoughts that were swirling in his head, ready to engulf him in a never-ending brooding session.

He needed to find some menial, tedious and energy-consuming task, the kind that would allow him to focus his mind on something else other than the creeping despair he felt lurking in the recess of his mind, and would leave him too tired to think once he was done.

So he went to Temari's home for some babysitting.

Six years ago, his sister had been nagging him to be named permanent Suna Ambassador in Konoha (a totally made-up post just for her need, she owed him big for that). He finally relented, and was not surprised when one year after that, he was shoved into a tux and asked to pronounce the words biding his sister to Nara Shikamaru.

He _had_ been surprised, however, when after another year had passed by, Temari had announced him that she intended to start her own family. Kankurou and himself had not thought her to be the kind to enter motherhood while not yet in her mid-twenties. Scratch that, they had not thought her to be the kind to enter motherhood, period.

One niece and a nephew later, he was glad they have been proven wrong. His sister was even pregnant with another Nara spawn, and was claiming everywhere that she fully intended it to be a little red haired boy. Such an affirmation would have been laughable from anyone else, but Gaara had admitted long ago that Temari's strong mind was apparently able to bend even genetic laws to her will. Indeed, his two year old niece was the spitting image of Temari while the boy was looking like as much as his father as Kankurou resembled theirs. Her sister may be smug about it, but the Kazekage thought that the parallelism between their two families was a bit spooky.

Still, a part of him now understood why his sister had decided to renounce -for now- a promising Jounin career. Compared to their own wretched childhood, seeing how their wannabe look alikes seemed so happy between their loving parents, it really felt like things were finally set right, and that the wounds gained at an early age were starting to heal through them.

Of course, that deep feeling of satisfaction usually lasts only for about ten seconds, which was the maximum amount of time you can spend on reflections and reminiscence when around two kids aged less than three years old.

But that was why watching them for the night was the perfect thing to help him from letting his thoughts return to the disastrous events of the day. By the time he'll be finished with them (or rather, when _they _will be finished with him) he'd be too tired to care. Hopefully.

Temari, currently the only grown-up in her home since Shikamaru had been sent on a long mission in Wave, was bored out of her mind. Consequently, she jumped at the chance to have a drink with her female friends.

Of course she had not been so overjoyed that she missed the air of stiffness around her littlest brother. She had asked him twice if he was alright, and twice he let out a "why, yes, thank you" kind of grunt that did not fooled her, if her "We'll talk about it later" kind of stare was any indication.

She finally relented, then proceed to shout various recommendations and advice while putting on her shoes, doing her make up, searching for her keys, putting on perfume, picking up a handbag, changing her shoes (which no longer match the chosen handbag), searching for her keys again (left next to the bottle of perfume), checking her make up one last time, and kissing the kids (and her startled little brother) goodbye.

Gaara wiped his cheek, watching his sister leave. Maternity had definitely addled her brains: she had tried earlier that week to make him spit on a bit of cloth so that she could rub off a fantasy spot on his chin. Worse, he had let her, since he had been too stunned to protest, but he managed to escape when she had reached for a comb, a maniac glint in her eyes. He hoped that she'll soon grow out of this phase. He did look like a nerd with his hair flattened.

The feeling of his sand moving startled him out of his daydreaming. It had caught his niece while she was trying to sneak in the garden to play with her –beloved- new swing. It swirled her back, screeching with laughter, to the kitchen. He hoisted his baby nephew higher on his hip and sighed. Yep, ten seconds top. It was going to be a long evening.

NaruGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaOMGGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaNaru

It had been a _hellish_ evening.

Only a couple of hours after Temari's exit, Gaara could be found in his niece and nephew's bedroom, slumped over a fluffy pink armchair, the one used by his sister for both story time and when she used to –argh- feed her son. (Apparently, Gaara's mind was censoring itself when 'Temari' and 'Breastfeeding' were in the same sentence).

His shirt was soaked from the flood survival training and near drowning experience otherwise known as 'Bath time'. His body also ached in places that even the most hardcore battles had not managed to awaken, and he was nearly chakra depleted. An evening using his Sand to cushion his niece from all the pointy objects and sharp angles of the house could lead to that.

Compared to the breathing hurricane that was his sister, the boy was very calm. He slept –a lot-, and played and ate very silently, as long as he was _in someone's arms_. When Gaara had tried to put him in his high chair to eat, he had let out a long, wailing scream, complete with arms flailing, tears and red face. The Kazekage had finally retrieved him, afraid that his nephew would blow a fuse, or his own eardrums. The toddler had been on his best behaviour ever since, even cooing at his uncle's death glares.

And yet, he had cling to them, afraid of what was awaiting in the dark recess of his mind, ready to pounce once he'd be free from their overwhelming presence. So he let them play with the Sand Pool he had set in their room for as long as he dared (and removing sand from the carpet's threads was a _bitch_). He even twice told 'Three little kunais and the rusty shuriken' using voices (though how a rusty shuriken was supposed to sound, he had no idea).

But all too soon, his niece was rubbing her eyes and nodding in sleep, while the boy was already asleep in his arms. And as much as he wished to keep them awake, a heartbroken uncle was no excuse to break curfew. He brought his nephew in his crib and the –feebly protesting- girl in her bed, watching her as she turned from lil' devil to peaceful angel in less than ten seconds.

In a way, his plan had worked. He was now too tired to properly think, but he also felt somewhat sleepy. So he allowed himself to be comfortable in his seat and closed his eyes, ready to be carried away by the half-meditating, half-slumbering state he still preferred to sleep.

Images, sounds, sensations began to float lazily in the back of his mind, and he tried not let any anchor him – the softness of his nephew's skin, his sister's perfume, her cheerful voice as she kissed them goodbye, the too-sweet smell of baby shampoo, the sunny locks of his niece…

Unconsciously, his mind stopped at that particular image, and began to unravel a similar thread. Memories surfaced, not _those _memories but other, older ones, nearly similar in their distressing intensity and linked to the same person.

_Hair, blonde and spiky hair …_

NaruGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaOMGGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaNaru

"… _the Oto Jounin had one hand already in Naruto's hair, toying with the blonde locks the way she had played with her own dark ones a bit earlier, and was giving the leaf ninja a seductive smile. Naruto brought his face conveniently closer, and whispered something to her. She blushed prettily and laughed, then said something in equally hushed tones._

_Gaara wrenched his gaze away from the painful scene, trying to keep his chakra flow as smooth as usual. He needed to keep a hold on it. If he couldn't manage that, it meant he was bound to gouge that flirty cow's eyes out anytime._

_He knew it had been a mistake to let himself been dragged here. He disliked crowds and he was not really fond of socializing, but Naruto had insisted and nearly begged, and even though he knew what was going to happen, what was happening _now_, he had relented, as usual. _

_Tonight was their last night in Oto no Kuni, after a few days spent in negotiating a treaty that would hopefully lead to the opening of a commercial road between Suna, Konoha, Oto and Kumo. Drunk on the feeling of hope that always brought an entente between nations that were traditional enemies, a few Jounin –amongst them, Naruto- had proposed an informal gathering of all the shinobi present in one of Oto's bar._

_Gaara had tried to skip away the whole thing, saying that as the Kazekage he would disturb the 'informal' part of things, but Naruto had waved his excuse away and dragged him along. There was indeed enough Suna and Konoha shinobi that knew him well enough not to be uncomfortable in his presence._

_However, even if he was now seated with a few persons he was able to interact with, he had lost interest in any form of socializing as soon as Naruto walked in the bar and spotted the beautiful Oto Jounin he had been leering at for days._

_The Kazekage knew how that would turn out. Naruto had played that scenario enough times now. So he had tried to focus his mind on his brother's own attempts at seduction on a giggling Tenten, or on Inuzuka Kiba and Hinata Hyuuga's playful bantering. But it seemed that his heart needed to see and suffer, because his eyes were brought to his best friend –and first love- like a moth to a flame._

_He had let his stare wander again toward the couple, when the Hyuuga girl suddenly stood._

"_Well, I need another glass!" she announced. "Who wants a refill? Next round's on me!" _

_A chorus of appreciative cheers answered her, and she turned toward Gaara._

"_Would you mind coming with me, Gaara-san? I might have my hands a bit full"_

_Inuzuka barked a laugh. "You need help to bring half a dozen glasses back? What kind of Jounin are you?"_

_Hinata smiled. "A drunken one. But if you preferred to have half the contents of your drink spilled between the counter and here, well…"_

"_I'll come with you." Gaara interrupted. He stood up and followed the kunoichi. Truth be told, he was a bit curious as to why she asked him, and not Kiba. He studied her from the corner of his eyes. She had changed a lot over the years; she was now walking with an air of confidence and had nearly stopped stuttering. _

_He listened while she ordered a refill for everyone at their table, and his suspicions increased when he saw that she did not make any mistake in memorizing everybody's drinks. She was definitely not drunk enough to need his help in carrying glasses. Why did she want him here? He decided to ask her out loud._

_She smiled at him "I wanted to lure you away from the table before you attacked that Oto Jounin."_

_Gaara felt as if someone had punched him in the guts. Had he been that obvious?_

_Hinata must have seen him blanch, because she immediately said "Don't worry, I'm sure that nobody but I noticed. You kept your chakra well under control. I just…know where to look."_

_The red head started breathing again. "What do you mean?" he asked._

_The kunoichi began to draw patterns on the wooden counter, using spilled liquids as ink. "I don't know if you're aware of that, but I used to love him –Naruto- for the longest time."_

_Gaara nodded. He remembered his sister mentioning something like that once. _

"_I followed him, stalked him, even." She gave a small chuckle. "It was a tad creepy, come to think of it. And he was completely oblivious of it, the entire time. He was confident, determined…everything I wasn't. I admired him, and loved him for that. He helped me change, and I owe him so much…"_

_She sighed, and turned to Gaara. "When I watched him, I was happy. But when I went back home, alone, well…not so much. And each time I saw him with Sakura…I could say I was jealous, but the truth was, I was mostly sad. And disgusted with myself, because I never was able to tell him how I really felt. In the end, the pain of loving him overbalanced the joy of being in love."_

_She turned back to her wet drawings. "That's why I can tell you from experience, Gaara-san. You must either confess to him, or forget about it and turn your affections elsewhere. That's the only possible outcome in that kind of rel…" _

_He slammed his hand on the counter. She jumped._

"_You were from the same village, an old school friend. You were beautiful, and a fucking _girl_." He hissed. "You choosing not too confess is a totally different situation than mine, so don't you dare draw comparisons. If anything, it just shows how pathetically weak you were."_

_She flinched, but held her ground. "Either way, it's the same result, Gaara-san. I couldn't confess, you don't want to."_

_He sneered at her. "So what's your remedy then? Ah yes, 'forget about him' and chase someone else?" he scoffed. "Some love that was."_

_If Hinata was bothered by the way he talked to her, she did not let it show. "I did not stop loving him." She protested. "I still admire him, and still think he's a great man, and will be the best of the Hokage. I'll die for him. I just put some distance, that's all."_

_She was interrupted when the barman came with their drinks. When she looked back at him, she was smiling, and Gaara was disturbed by the happiness he felt radiating from her._

"_As for the 'chasing someone else', Gaara-san…well this time around it was someone else that was chasing me… and trust me, it changes everything."_

_He looked at her, remembering the air of confidence, the absence of stuttering. Nice changes that had _not_ been brought by her school crush. Still, stop loving Naruto? He felt a definite twinge in his chest. There was something nearly cruel in that thought._

_Unconsciously, he searched for the blonde tresses in the dim light…and found them nearly twined with the black ones of the Oto Jounin, as their owners were busy making out._

_This time, the painful jab he felt at his heart nearly made him brought his hand on his chest. He finally tore his eyes away as the Leaf nin began to suckle his way down the woman's throat. Avoiding Hinata's compassionate gaze, he focused his slightly blurry vision on the row of glasses in front of him. Finally finding his own, he gulped the contents in one go._

"_You still want me to confess?" he asked, his voice slightly rough._

_Hinata blinked. "Yes, actually." She continued when Gaara let out a mirthless laugh. "Gaara-san, I used to like boys, and the person I'm in love with now is a woman. People can change."_

"_Not him, he won't." The Kazekage answered, guts twisting, thinking of all the girls the blond Jounin had nearly fucked before him, oblivious of the dismay he was causing in his best friend._

_He pushed himself away from the counter. "Okay, I'm out of here. Tell Kankurou I felt a bit tired, nothing else, and persuade him not to come after me." He smiled a bit. "I feel like his flirting might lead to something this time."_

_Hinata nodded. "All right, but Gaara-san? I really need your help with those drinks…here" she extended her arms towards him. He pick up the glasses and began to line them on her arms, smiling a bit when a bit when he felt chakra flare, gluing the drinks to her. She opened her arms wide and he finished the touch by putting a tall Beer mug on her head._

_He smiled a bit more at the picture she made. "You look like a scarecrow with your arms like that."_

_She giggled a bit. "I was trying for Goddess of Drunkard but that will do. Thank you, Gaara-san."_

_He shrugged, a bit embarrassed. Some part of it wanted to return the thanks for the –what? kind of advice?- she gave him. But he didn't know how, so he just nodded to her and made a beeline for the exit, his sand gourd reshaping itself on his back as he went._

_Otogakure no Sato was located on top of a small mound, but it was still in the middle of something that was a little more than an organized swamp. The warm dampness of the day morphed into a chilly fog at night, so the Kazekage sped up his steps, hating both the cold and the humidity._

_It was just like the old days with Shukaku. His head felt so full he wondered why it hasn't exploded by now. Hinata's voice, his own, images of Naruto and old memories…all of it was jumbled in a mess that did not make sense anymore. Kankurou had told him that it was normal, that it was what 'having a lot on your mind' was, but Gaara had neared at some point 'clinically insane' and was appealed at the similarities between the two states of mind._

_But as always, Naruto's face began to swim to the surface of his mind. He remembered, how he had discovered, shortly after his rescue from the clutches of Akatsuki that he was probably in love with the blond shinobi who refused to leave his thoughts. He remembered how happy he had been that his first love was for someone who was, in his eyes, so worthy of it._

_That had been the best part. It was the time when his teenage, naïve self had thought that as long as he'll have his most precious person's friendship everything would be alright in his world. What was the point in confession, when you know that you share a unique bond with the one you love?_

_Then Naruto hit puberty. He recalled the growing distress he had felt when he noted that other persons than him were beginning to see his blonde friend as an object worthy of romantic feelings. The worst was when he realized that Naruto was letting go of his obsession of Sakura to consider those people, too…while never, once, looking in his direction. _

_That was the time when Gaara had been forced to contemplate the fact that their friendship, unique as it was, could be shaken by an even greater force, and that he wouldn't be the person who understood Naruto the best anymore. _

_Then _Gaara_ hit puberty. He had begun to realize how the Leaf Jounin had shot up in the last few years, and how his shoulders had broadened, giving his once chubby friend the silhouette of a well-built man. He also noticed how his blond hair had grew, now caressing his whiskered cheeks in an unkempt-but-sexy way…whiskered cheeks that had lost enough baby fat to uncover a strong and manly jaw line. _

_He was prompt to note that with each of all those little realizations, came some sort of fluttery feeling in his chest that made him feel weak, that made him feel tingly, that made him feel thrumming with _needs_ all linked to Naruto. _

_The worst was when Naruto began to monopolize his dreams, too. That was the moment when Gaara had seriously started to fight for his attraction, because the dichotomy between the Naruto of the day –all loud and boisterous and painfully _friendly_- and the Naruto of the night –all for Gaara to touch with his tantalizing manly body- was starting to make him ill._

_That malaise stemmed mostly from guilt, from having such impure thoughts about this best friend, from being weak enough to let something like lust taint their relation. But there was also no small amount of fear: fear of what the blond shinobi would do, if he'd known about _that_. Would he still be Gaara's friend? Would he stop blessing him and torturing him with all those friendly touches? Would he reject him? Would his blinding smile turn into a grimace of disgust? Each time the Kazekage dared to think of it, his heart was clenching and his mind shutting down in panic_

'In the end, the pain of loving him overbalanced the joy of being in love.'

_He sighed; Hinata's words were making sense. That was exactly what was happening to him, wasn't it? He was so afraid of Naruto figuring him out, he couldn't bring himself to freely enjoy the time spend with him anymore, for fear of betraying himself and his feelings. He was sure it was bound to happen. Thank gods Naruto was dense, but even he was bound to remark that his best friend seemed to be sometimes struck with the same symptoms as the swooning girls he usually flirted with. _

_He thought back to Hinata's advice. Should he give it a chance? Could he really stop loving Naruto? Or wouldn't it be best to transfer some of his lust elsewhere, and keep his feelings for him pure? Was that even possible?_

_His never ending loop of questions was abruptly cut when the foggy atmosphere around him shifted. He tensed and then relaxed again, recognizing the rapidly approaching chakra. In a whirlwind of droplets, displaced air and dead leaves, the Number One Surprising Ninja of Konoha materialized next to him_

'_Whaaaa… Gaara, man, I nearly lost track of you! What possessed you to walk so fast?'_

_The red head glared. 'I did not expect to be followed! Didn't your friend Hyuuga pass  
my message along?'_

'_Well, yeah, she told me you were tired and stuff, so I had to check on you! You can't just go off alone in a foreign village like that! What if you get attacked? Kankurou was upset too, but I told him I'd go…come on, if you're feeling weak…'_

'_I am NOT feeling weak!' he snapped. 'and even so I can take of myself!' He shook his head, exasperated. Typical Naruto: he went away to shake out his influence and the idiot decided to go all clingy on him. But then, it also meant…_

'_What about the Oto girl?' He tried to ask casually. 'Aren't you upset that you had to leave her so soon?'_

_Naruto made a dismissing gesture. 'Naaah. Sticking with your friends is more important.' He grinned. Gaara felt quietly elated._

'_B'sides, she had time to give me head in the bathroom- Ouch!!' He glared at the retreating back of his friend, rubbing the spot where a Sand Fist had none-too-gently knocked him. 'What was that for?' he yelled._

'_You, Uzumaki, are a pig.' The redhead hissed. Naruto blinked, and then hurried after his friend._

'_Come on, Gaara, that was a joke! She actually turned all snotty and sulky when I told her I had to leave. Heh, I don't care, she was a slobbery kisser anyway.'_

'_That was not funny' commented Gaara. He was angry with himself. What had gotten into him, to react that way?_

'_Jeez, if I hadn't seen your brother trying to find all of Tenten's hidden weapons with his tongue, I would have thought that all the Suna shinobi were prudes.' _

_Gaara did not deem that remark worthy of an answer. They continued in silence for a couple of minutes, until Gaara suddenly felt a strong arm circle his shoulders. He then was brought against a large chest. A bit wary, he raised his eyes –god, he hated how Naruto had grown taller than him- to met his friend's gaze. The blond shinobi looked slightly concerned._

'_You okay, Gaara?' he asked. 'You look a bit pale. Maybe it's more than tiredness?'_

_The Kazekage could only feebly shake his head, mouth suddenly dry. Naruto was SO close. He could feel the slight tingling of the other's breath on his face. He could clearly see the blond stubble that was adorning his chin, and he could smell his scent, a mix of cloves and peppermint and maybe a hint of sandalwood. Most importantly, he could feel that weak and fluttery feeling again growing in his chest, growing as well as the desire to lean just a bit, and kiss those familiar yet tempting lips, and finally end the questions, hesitations and self-loathing, and…_

_Gaara sucked in a sharp breath. Naruto was leaning toward him and his tanned hand was cupping his cheek…_

'_Do you feel feverish? I swear, you're a bit red…' the hand moved upward, now palming his forehead, searching for suspicious heat. Gaara blinked, and wrenched himself away from Naruto's arms, feeling humiliated, sad, and angry at himself._

'_Stop your damn coddling, Uzumaki!' he snarled. 'I told you I'm fucking FINE!" _

'_Well, OKAY." The blonde huffed. His tone actually sounded a bit hurt. But when Gaara resumed walking, he immediately followed him, though he kept grumbling under his breath. The words 'ungrateful tanuki' reached a few time the redhead's ears before he gave in._

'_Naruto?'_

'_What?'_

_Gaara picked from his tunic one of the dead leaves the blonde shinobi had showered him with earlier. 'That was a sloppy space-time jutsu, by the way.'_

'_WHAT?' the Leaf Nin screeched indignantly. 'It was a perfectly well-executed move! And I'll let you know YOU nearly scrub my skin raw with your sand each time YOU try to teleport-'_

_Gaara smiled inwardly, letting his friend rant at his leisure. It was his very peculiar way of saying 'sorry for snapping at you', and only Naruto could possibly see it as the apology it was, but it was working. Soon Gaara felt an arm creep around his shoulders, and hating himself for it, he did not shake it away._

_He listened to his friend's babbling, but his mind was elsewhere. He was determined to try some bit of Hinata's advice. His attitude was already causing a strain in his relation with Naruto, and the blonde was not even aware of his feelings. He did not want to live in pain forever, nor for Naruto to hate him. But how does one gets 'chased' by someone? His thoughts went back to the last Iwa delegation that came to the Sand. Wasn't there…_

_An insistent tug on his hair stopped his thinking. Naruto was chanting 'earth to Gaara, earth to Gaara'._

'_Yes?'_

_Naruto gave him an evil smile. 'Your hair is all curly!'_

'_What? No!' Gaara shook the damn humidity of his hair, grumbling. Naruto burst out laughing. The Kazekage gave him the evil eye, but there was no real heat behind it. He was too busy rejoicing in the slight happy feeling that the sight of Naruto's cheerful, carefree face always brought to his heart._

_Then Naruto's expression twisted into an ugly snarl, and the full blaze of his angry red eyes was directed at him while he tossed his Kage robes in his face…"_

…and Gaara gasped, jolted away from his half-dreaming, half-reminiscing state to find himself in his niece's bedroom. He brought his hand to his chest, a strangled whine escaping his lips.

It was over. All his efforts had been in vain, Naruto had discovered his secrets in the worst way possible and Gaara had been rejected in the worst possible way.

He had tried to stop loving Naruto, and he had failed. He had tried reigning in his lust, and he had failed. But the suffering he had felt then was nothing to the agony he felt now.

Though, amidst all the emotions tearing up at him, there was a new one, freshly awaken and raising its head.

It was anger.

Anger that for once, was not aimed at himself.

_NaruGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaOMGGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaNaru_

Temari sped up her steps, wanting to go back home as fast as possible. It was not because, as one could assume, she had left her two young children in the care of her ex-psychopath and still socially inept little brother. When confronted to little kids, especially the ones from his blood, her little brother was a socially inept person who _tried_. She linked that fact to his traumatic childhood, when all the other children were running away screaming each time he appeared.

As a result, Gaara could not bear the sight of any ankle-biter being afraid of him. He never raised his voice, shouted or, God forbid, hit any of them. One of the amusing effects of this was that each time the Kazekage had to go to Suna Academy, he would go back home with his hair ruffled and robes askew, sticky and covered in snot because he had let children barely bigger than three kunai climb all over him.

The only threat he may present for children was the one stemming from a too long exposition to the sight of the almighty ruler of a shinobi village lacking the authority to prevent a five year old from putting plasticine in his hair. The Kazekage's sister could only hope that the next generation of Suna's shinobi wouldn't grow with a total lack of regard for its rulers.

Temari sighed, and started to search for her keys. She really had wanted a 'Girl's Night', with nice gossiping and a big amount of giggling. Motherhood was truly a wonderful thing, but it lacked a bit of…carefreeness. Even if she wasn't able to have anything alcoholic, she could still let herself relax while listening to the interesting lives of her childless friends.

Alas, when she had entered their usual bar, neither Tenten (away on a mission) nor Sakura (called for an emergency) were there, and Ino was already well on her way of getting smashed under the eyes of a worried Hinata. She had looked at the Hyuuga girl, who only shrugged, answering Temari's implicit question as to why Ino was _already_ drunk.

She had not pressured the blond with questions, thinking that it was probably boyfriend trouble and if Ino wanted to talk about it, well, she'll just have to turn around.

She eventually did just that, and that was when Temari suddenly felt the desire to rush back home. Ino had said little (or rather, she was not able to decipher much of her drunken slur), but there was apparently been a fight of sort between her little brother and Naruto. The idea was ludicrous in itself, Gaara had a crush the size of Suna on the blond oaf (not that she would say that to Ino, or anyone) and would never get angry at him, but then she remembered how tense he had seemed when he came to her home.

But as much as she had wanted to go back to her brother, there was first the delicate task of prying Ino Yamanaka away from the bar (something that was never easy, even when she was not hogging the karaoke stage) and return safely to her home. They eventually succeeded, mostly using good old drunken logic (she'll have to thank Kankurou for that particular training) and discreet Gentle Fist moves.

Temari finally opened the door of her home. The house was silent, but light was flooding from the kitchen. She stopped at the threshold, her heart sinking. Her baby brother was sitting at the table with an untouched cup of tea before him, and she could just see at his dropped shoulders, and faraway look, that Ino had been right. He had indeed fought with Naruto.

"You're early." He stated.

"Well, Ino was dead drunk, so it was not really interesting. I heard…that she had a very bad day at work?" she ventured, her questioning tone letting an opening for him if he wished to offer her explanations.

"Ah." He just said.

Temari opened her mouth, but he beat her to it.

"Did you know that your son is a kind of human banshee? Each time I tried to untwine him from my arms he would pierce my eardrums in retaliation." He droned on in his even voice, not looking at her.

She had to smile at this. "It's a Nara thing apparently, or so Yoshino says. It seems that all the males Nara babies opened their mouth at birth to let out their first cry…and only shut them around their third birthdays."

Gaara appeared to mull this over. "I don't know, it sounds like a good description of Kankurou to me. Except the bit about shutting up, of course."

She let out a quiet chuckle at this, even though a real pang of nostalgia shot through her at the mention of the eldest of her brothers. She suddenly wished that he was there, and not only because she hadn't seen the little punk in far too long - he was one of the rare people that could have a true conversation with Gaara. She was only good at worrying, whereas the crafty puppeteer could coax almost anything from his little brother and, unlike her, he would not allow himself to be sidetracked.

"Gaara, what the fuck happened with Uzumaki today?" There. Probably not as sly as what Kankurou would have said, and probably blunt enough to cause Gaara to shut down completely, but if not, well, maybe she'll get straight answers that way.

Her brother immediately tensed, but after a moment of indecision, he let out a huge sigh.

"Naruto saw me with Nobuo, in a rather compromising position, no less, and he…was most displeased."

"What?!"

She listened as he told her the events of his day, but she could barely believe him. Of course, she had known about the Iwa Jounin. Kankurou updated her about their brother week by week, and she knew that the two had been dating on and off for a while now.

She absent-mindedly rubbed her slightly curving belly. The point that didn't make sense at all was Naruto… his words and actions were harsh and underlined a slight cruelty she did not think he was capable of.

"Are you sure it was him?" she asked for the second time.

"Believe me, Uzumaki can be a right bastard when he chooses to." Gaara's face grew somber. "Except this time, he went too far."

The wind kunoichi met her brother's eyes, slightly worried. She was about to ask him what he meant, when she was interrupted by loud knocking.

"Who the fuck would come at this hour?" she grumbled, but the question was rhetoric. She only knew one person who knocked a door that way -it was more like pummeling it to submission.

Judging by the way Gaara had immediately stood up, his face tense, he had recognized the visitor too.

It was Naruto.

- TBC –

**Oh, noes! A cliffie! What will happen? Is it really Naruto? Why is he here? Will Gaara even get to open the door? Wasn't the Raikage supposed to keep an eye on them?**

**Okay, now the bad new is… you won't probably know the answers before two other months, if not more. \runs for cover/**

**Haha, I call this chapter 'the chapter in which nothing happens'… all the action will be in chapter 3. I guess it can't be helped, some chapters are more for setting and character building…**

**And yeah, Temari trusts her brother taking care of her child… I like that idea. Of course, she doesn't know yet that he let them play in dirty, blood-soaked old sand the whole evening, and AFTER bath time. **

**Sorry for the long opening scene with the OCs, but well, it had a purpose, even if I probably could have found a way to do it in fewer words. As for using OCs…well, in the case of the Kage, it was kind of mandatory. And I created Nobuo because I couldn't have his role played by a Konohan shinobi (though I thought about it) because then…he would have been within the Hokage's reach. **

**Okay, as usual, constructive criticisms are more than welcome; I want to know how to improve this story! And reviews not only feed my imagination, they boost my motivation to write!(Thanks to the fresh batch of reviews from AFFnet, I was even more motivated to finish!)**

**See you all!**


	3. Confrontation, Comfort andConcealment

**Disclaimer****: Naruto is Kishimoto's, Gaara's nicknames are fandom's, and grammar is Eternity-chan's. I really own not a thing here.**

**Thanks to: All of you, wonderful **_**patient**_** reviewers, who fills my heart with joy! Your reviews inspire me a lot! (yes, even the ones who only say 'argh, UPDATE!', they inspire me to get my butt in gear)**

**In my head, this is chapter 3-a, because that's not where it was supposed to end. But otherwise, it was going to be too damn long… and I would have let you with another cliffie.**

**And before I forget (thanks for pointing it out, Pamy-chou): Gaki-san means Brat-san, and Hige-sama can be**** translated as Beard-sama.**

* * *

_Chapter 3: Confrontations__, Comfort and Concealment _

It took a grand total of three hours for the Hokage to snap and hurl himself out of his office in search of the red head that had been the centre of his thoughts for the whole afternoon.

He didn't know if he wanted explanations or apologies or fucking _whatever_. He just knew that if he had to stay behind his desk and pretend everything was normal while undergoing another flashback of Gaara sprawled against that disgusting Iwa Jounin, there was going to be some _serious_ body harm done on the next poor fucker who tries to bother him with paperwork.

So, when he shot out of his office like some giant blond cannonball, causing the people nearby to cower and avoid him even more than they already have that day, he was trying even more to escape the restlessness of his mind than to cause trouble.

But it was undoubtedly from that moment on that things really started to go downhill.

He knew that the Kazekage was not in his suite. With that huge chakra of his, he could always trace him down if he was in the building and –obviously- providing that he wasn't in one of his little amorous trips with a no-name Jounin, the deceiving sneak.

That meant that he was probably with Temari, maybe crying on his sister's shoulder about how horrible the Hokage had been to him. Naruto snorted. The idea of Gaara crying on anyone's shoulder was ridiculous, but then again, until this morning, so had been the idea of him being anything but asexual.

Naruto clenched his teeth, suddenly hit by a very disturbing idea. What if Gaara wasn't with Temari, but once again, with the Iwa guy? He could have kicked himself for not checking for the blue haired man's chakra before leaving the Hokage tower. He could just picture it now. He would arrive at Temari's place, to learn that she hadn't seen her brother the whole day. _'Gaara? I thought he spent his evenings with you, didn't he?'_

By the time he reached the Academy district –where the ex-Suna kunoichi and her husband lived-, he had built up a nice paranoia that did not lessen when he was finally able to spot his target's aura. Indeed his mind began playing other scenes, of Gaara comfortably laughing with his sister, telling her the event of the day.

'_Naruto? Yeah, that moron finally figured it out. But only because I was careless enough to screw a diplomat before him, can you believe it?'_

He started, suddenly realizing that he was in front of Temari's home –and that he had no idea what to say to her brother. He took a deep breath, trying –for what seemed to be the thousand time- to will away the images and questions that had plagued him. Gaara was his friend. He had not meant –probably- to hurt him. Besides, he wasn't hurt. Just surprised, he guessed. Fuck. Fuck-ing unbelievable. How could he not have told him?

He quickly banged on the door. Let's ask Mister Wonder here. He'd listen to what he'd say, and would stay calm.

… Self-made promises that flew out the window as soon as Gaara opened the door.

Naruto watched his friend intently, searching for a sign –any sign- of discomfort, shame, fear or, hell, even good old fashioned embarrassment. Something that would tell him that the evening had been as hard for the Suna Kage as it had been for Naruto.

But Gaara's face was composed and his eyes unrevealing, as usual. The fucktard even had one eyebrow lifted in polite inquiry, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Naruto felt his fists clench by his side.

"Good evening, Kazekage-sama." He intoned coldly, the corners of his lips curling in anything but a smile. Everyone knew that Naruto never used titles on anyone. He called the Raikage 'Gaki-san' and the Tsuchikage 'Hige-sama'. He called Gaara a lot of things, from 'Tanuki Bastard' to 'Sandypants' and using his first name was as formal as he could get.

Gaara did not react. If anything, his expression grew even more distant.

"Hokage-" a pause, no longer than a slap in the face but just as insulting. "sama. To what do I owe the… pleasure?"

The nerve! Naruto ground his teeth at the little jab, the tell-tale burning sensation behind his eyeballs informing him that his iris had probably turned red, even if Gaara did not seem to be cowed by that. Not that he gave a fuck about it…but that Suna bastard was NOT going to play it cool for long, if Naruto had a say in this.

He searched blindly for something, anything, which would make Gaara drop the mask that he usually wore for everyone but him. He had the time to recall that the red head was the one who usually had the upper hand in verbal sparring before he decided to forego any kind of subtlety.

"Well, I'm actually quite surprise to see you here tonight." He gave a tinkling, fake laugh. "I couldn't feel your chakra in your own suite, so I thought 'Bummer, now I'm in for visiting every casern of jounin this country has, starting with the foreign ones. Might as well get _very lucky_ and try at his sister's.'"

The Kazekage blanched, his arms falling limply at his sides. "And what do you mean exactly?"

The Hokage titled his head to the side, mimicking pensiveness. "Why, I don't know really…I spotted you this morning with an unknown underling I could have sworn you never exchanged one word with before…you mean that habit of yours not a regular occurrence?"

Naruto heard with a twisted satisfaction the slight breathless sound the redhead made, as if he had been punched in the guts.

"Nobuo…Nobuo is…" The feeling of satisfaction turned abruptly sour and raging when he heard that name in those lips. "And what 'habit' are you talking about?!" Gaara snarled.

"Fucking random jounin, of course." The blonde raised his brows in mock surprise. "Well, seeing that you jumped at the first opportunity to get shagged by some stranger…"

He could not continue; there was suddenly a hand on his throat and pale jade eyes ablaze with fury, fixing him with murderous intensity. Naruto felt a thrill travel up his spine, overpowering the sudden pain on his neck. He had finally succeeded in riling the Kazekage...even if the fact that he had not gotten mauled by sand yet showed that Gaara still had a modicum of control on himself.

"You filthy hypocrite." Gaara snarled, his voice low and vibrating with such disgust that it immediately sent the Hokage back on edge. Gaara let go of him, nose scrunched up, mouth set in a line.

"As if," the redhead said, "you were in position to criticize me! Since how many years have you, how did you say?" His tone grew lighter and ferocious, mocking the words the Hokage had used that very afternoon " 'dedicated body and soul to strengthening the bonds between the villages'?" his voice went low again, shaking with repressed fury "and that, with the whole female part of every Hidden Village delegations, from top Jounin to kunoichi barely coordinate enough to open their legs for you? Where's the fucking difference, huh? Is that because I did it with men? Is that what's set you off, Uzumaki?"

"I don't care about that! What fucking 'set me off'" Naruto roared "is seeing the fucking Kazekage whoring himself with no decency whatsoever…"

"You're directly calling me a whore now?" the redhead hollered, his eyes were wild, he was looking slightly crazy "…and what the shit do _you_ know about decency, you asshole?" His lips widened in a scary smile, and he took two steps backwards. When he opened his mouth again, his voice was slightly higher, and rougher, and deceptively like Naruto's.

"Oi, Gaara, ya remember the blonde with the big tits and nice ass? Yeah, weapons expert from Kumo or whatever…Told you she was the dirty kind, man. Took it all the way up, without a gag! And knew a helluvah number of fun tricks with those huge jugs of hers 'dattebayo!"

Naruto barely registered the words and their accuracy, re-born from the Kazekage's perfect memory, before he lunged at his friend. He had only noticed the mocking tone, the scorn behind it, tangible through the 'dattebayo', and slightly vulgar way of phrasing, symbols of the poorer education that had been thoroughly beaten out of him by Tsunade and Sakura, but that he still kept around his once best friend.

So he lunged at the Kazekage and drew his arm back, intend on hitting him, intend on hitting Gaara, to push those words back in his mouth, and wipe that terrible expression off his face, a mix of triumph, scorn, anger and even hate. A face that evoked such a crushing feeling in his chest that he primarily wanted to hit the other male just so that he could retaliate to that unexpected pain by physically hurting him just as much.

He was suddenly pushed backwards, not by the Kazekage, but by something large, hairy and coarse that was shoved in his face. He lowered his gaze and found Temari, looking pale and determined, a broom which end she had thrust in his face clutched firmly her hands.

"Enough! Go away now!" she made a motion as if she wanted to hit him with the brush again and he hastily ducked, too stunned to take an offensive stance.

He glanced back at Gaara, his chest still heaving and his breath labored from the rush of adrenaline and anger. The redhead looked –big surprise- more composed. He had snaked an arm around his sister's waist, and his posture denoted some concern for her. Naruto remembered with a guilty pang that she was pregnant.

"I'm leaving." He said. Gaara raised his face, and Naruto clearly saw that his earlier expression had not vanished. It had condensed in his jade eyes, two burnings points of anger directed at Naruto. And because the last one didn't really know when to shut the fuck up, he added "I'm going before I say something I _might_ regret"

Gaara pried the broom away from his sister's hand, and led her inside. "You crossed that line this morning." he spat, closing the door behind them.

Naruto stood for a moment, glaring at the offensive bit of wood, his anger still coursing through him and still calling for some of that insolent Tanuki's blood. He finally turned his back to Temari's home and stalked back to the Hokage Tower.

A few times on his journey back he nearly turned heels to confront the Kazekage again, as their meeting played over and over in his head and a few witty comebacks kept coming to his mind.

A couple of hours later he was glad he had not submitted to those angry impulses.

And a couple of hours later, he would have gladly made the route back on his knees if that could have helped lighten the feeling of shame and horror he got whenever he thought of his visit.

_NaruGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaOMGGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaNaru_

The Raikage watched from his post on the Nara's household roof, as the departing silhouette of the Hokage merged into the night. "Well, shit." He said, with feeling.

All around, the lights coming from the windows of neighbors that had been abruptly awakened by the brawl between their own leader and the ruler of an equally powerful ninja village, were slowly dying out. However, even though the civilians were going back to sleep now that the noise had ended, the shinobi nearby –set on edge far earlier by the chakra flaring- were starting to move. The Raikage saw a couple of shadows disturb the twilight sky, and wondered to whom they were going to report. ANBU? The Council? Or maybe Tsunade, the ex-Hokage?

"I thought you came here to prevent that kind of event?" The dry and slightly sneering voice of the Tsuchikage interrupted his thoughts. He turned to glare at the old man.

"Obviously I was too late." He said, showing his teeth. He did not mention that he might have taken a wrong turn at some point.

The Tsuchikage looked down the street, toward where the Hokage had gone. A resigned expression had settled on his lined face. "Well, I think it's over now. There clearly nothing we can do. We can just hope that they won't mix personal with politic."

"Can't trust Uzumaki with that, obviously." The Raikage mumbled, his smooth brow creased. Now that he _really_ thought about it, he didn't want the other Kage's friendship to fall apart. It was nice to see them interact as if there were no hidden traps behind each of their words. Even the Kage meetings have benefited from the feeling of unconditional trust they both shared.

The young boy thought back to his own staff reunions in Kumo, and grimaced. Even back home, politics were much more like a minefield in which he was left to wander blind with people shooting him wrong directions.

It had been nice, if a bit of a paradox, to be able to somewhat relax while being with leaders that, while rivalling on most levels, still did their best to keep things running as smoothly as possible.

But now, with the drift between the Kazekage and the Hokage, would that still be the same?

"I still don't understand why they yelled at each other like that." He said, a bit of tiredness creeping in his tone. "Weren't they supposed to be friends? Best friends?"

From the corner of his eyes, he saw the Tsuchikage shrug.

Suddenly the air shifted, and the Mizukage was there, watching the night alongside them.

"You mean you really don't have a clue?" She said.

Both men watched her, glaring. "You mean you do?" the young boy asked, his tone challenging.

She looked at them both, and then rolled her eyes upwards. "Men…"

_NaruGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaOMGGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaNaru_

That was approximately the thought rolling around Sakura's mind a few hours later, while sneaking around the Hokage Tower.

Of course, she had no reason to sneak…she was after all, the former team mate of the Hokage and as such, had earned by custom an automatic place in the Council.

Not that it mattered much. Sakura thought that it was one of her missions in life, to care about Naruto and especially, to make sure he behaved. Be it through advice, as tradition allowed her, or through more violent means, as she always had.

But she liked to try and creep in, just because…ah yes, target was in sight.

Ino Yamanaka was slumped against the wall leading to the Hokage's room, eyes closed against the feeble morning light and sipping on a water bottle, looking utterly miserable.

Sakura made to pass her silently, but deadly hangover or no, Ino was still the Hokage's assistant and personal guard as well as a top-notch kunoichi. She thrust up a leg, blocking Sakura's way.

It was a recurring game between the two. Sakura, one of the best in using genjutsu, would try to pass Ino, who was one of the best in defusing genjutsu, whenever she could… and Ino would try to stop her, whenever she could, too.

"Forehead," the blonde woman sighed, opening two blood-shots eyes. "Right now my migraine makes me hear each sound louder than the one made by two atoms of air humping each other. Your illusions are like wailing sirens…drop them, please."

Sakura did just that, and smiled at her friend. "Really, Ino-pig, I can cure that headache for you! I promise to leave your head all nice and empty, as usual."

Ino snorted, then groaned. " I AM a medic, and not lousy enough to be unable to cure a migraine." An unspoken 'if barely' hung in the air between them, but if Yamanaka was rather honest with herself it was not to the point of admitting her weaknesses to her rival. "I need to remember why it's a shitty idea to get shit faced."

Her friend winced, feeling inwardly sorry for everyone that would be crossing Ino's path this morning. When the blonde had a headache, very soon everyone nearby was suffering from the same predicament. A mind-controller's privilege.

Ino unstuck herself from the wall and looked blearily at the medic-nin. "Came here to beat the crap outta my boss?"

Sakura immediately frowned. "What makes you think that?" '_Have rumours started already?'_

Ino snorted again, then winced, _again_. 'Stupid' she mouthed, before answering.

"Relax. It's just, you have that evil glint in your eyes…you know, the one that says 'I'm going to set Naruto's ass damn straight'."

Sakura fought, very hard, not to blink. "I do not have an evil glint." She retorted, annoyed.

"Whatever." The blonde woman edged towards the stairs. "I'm going for a walk. I don't feel like my head can support Naruto's shouts of pain now. Take care for me, will you? Ah- and good luck." She added, as an afterthought.

They both knew that sometimes, the only way for something to go into Naruto's head would be to write it on a piece of paper, physically crack open his skull and shove it inside. Kami knew that Sakura was sometimes tempted to do just that.

The pink-haired kunoichi made her way toward the Hokage's administrative centre. It was the place where a young Naruto used to bug the Sandaime and the Godaime for higher ranked, more interesting missions. Maybe that was the reason why it was now his favourite place and where he could be found most of the time, even in the –rare, very rare- times when he was done with paperwork.

She pushed the door open without knocking first. After all, it would have ruined the effect, and he probably already knew she was there. Still, he froze when she burst through the office's entry, but his expression quickly morphed into one of resignation before he closed his eyes.

Sakura growled angrily and punched him square in the face. He had not tried to block or to avoid her blow, though he was not slammed into the opposite wall like he would have been a decade earlier. He _did_ reel backward a few steps, until she grabbed him by the collar of his robes and yanked his face close to hers.

"What possessed you," she snarled "to bother one of my patients, _a pregnant woman_, at her home, 'til she had to resort to violence to make you go away?"

He seemed to wither under her ferocious glare, but he managed to gather enough courage to ask:

"Is Temari-san okay?" there was some real anxiousness and shame in his tone, so she injected a tad less coldness and scorn in her own voice to answer him.

"Yes" she could have added an 'Obviously' but choose not to. Every male, just like Naruto, thought that pregnant women were made of glass. The younger Sabaku was no exception. It was he who has called Sakura to check on his sister.

When the medic had arrived, she could tell that Temari was far more bothered by her brother's meddling than by whatever that was supposed to have set her off in the first place.

Nevertheless Sakura had diligently run a quick check-up, all the while discreetly prodding to know more about the situation, but then she had hit the patented Sabaku Stubborn Silence.

She went back to her place knowing no more.

She still wouldn't, if Tsunade hadn't summoned her.

And now Naruto… looked almost as bad as Ino, with purple bags going halfway down his cheeks, blonde hair uncombed and clumped in limp locks around his face.

Scratch that, he looked worse than Ino; the mind-controller's eyes weren't that dull and empty. He obviously had little sleep that night, and something was clearly still gnawing at him.

"So, what happened?" She chose the plumper armchair in front of his desk and sat down. He did not answer but took his own seat across hers, and began to carefully prod the place where she had hit him. The movement allowed her to spot under his slightly raised chin a series of bruises on his throat, as if someone had tried to strangle him. They looked rather ugly, but it did not worry her as much as the dejected expression that had settled on his face.

She gently pried his fingers away from his swelling cheek, pulling her owns instead. She channeled chakra in her hand and started to heal him.

The Hokage closed his eyes, the healing touch producing its usual soothing effect. Yet she could see, with each restless tightening of his lips and tremors of his lashes that the thoughts which had prevented his sleep were not yielding their grasp on his mind.

She moved her hand down his throat, to tend the wounds there, but his hand shot forwards, catching her wrist and pulling it away.

"Not those." He rasped.

"Why?" Just by the how the marks were placed on his Adam's apple, she could tell he must be hurting every time he swallowed more than spit.

He averted his gaze. "Those I…really deserved."

She went on her feet and turned around his desk, stopping next to him. She took his chin in her hand and raised his face to her. His eyes broke her heart a bit; they reminded her of the Sasuke days: they were hurt, lost and a bit frightened. There were also eyes that showed the shadow of the neglected child he had been, back in the days during which she herself had been to self-absorbed to notice him.

She slightly pushed the blond locks away from his forehead. "Naruto, what's wrong?" she asked, trying to put as much meanings as possible behind that simple question. Things like 'I'm your friend, I'll listen to you and won't judge you' and 'whatever it is, we'll sort it together'.

His face crumpled and she thought for a moment that he was going to cry. He never had been ashamed of his tears; even to the day he had taken the Hokage's Office though as a leader, the way he seemed to always wear his heart on his sleeve had from time to time been judged as a weakness.

But even though Tsunade, Shizune and herself had done their best to beat some of his rude manners out of him –with less than stellar results- they never _really_ tried to curb that trait in him. Because overly loud, trusting, confident…and emotive, that _was_ Naruto, and what made his charm... and strange effectiveness in the world of Kage Politics.

However painful to witness it could be, sometimes.

Naruto took a big, shuddering breath and watched his hands, tightly clasped before him on the desk. He raised them both and hid his face in them.

"I've lost him, Sakura-chan" his voice was muffled, ragged, and desperate.

"What? Who?" despite the fact that she _knew_ who it could only be (who, she had come to realize, it was _always_ about), but that did not make any sense.

"Gaara!" He lowered his hands to stare at her. "He hates me now! I saw that in his eyes!"

Sakura made no efforts to conceal the disbelief from her face. Yes, she had read the transcription of the argument, and yes, she had heard it had been the violent kind of row and hell yes, she had also picked up signs of deep agitation on the Suna Leader that night, but Gaara hating Naruto? It was as much an anomaly of nature as water morphing to fire.

She sat on the desk and took one of Naruto's hands in hers.

"I severely doubt that's the case, Naruto. You can't suddenly decide that you hate someone, just like that." _'No matter how much it is deserved' _she thought, her mind once again brought back to Sasuke, the habit of a lifetime she could really use to break, now.

The blond wrenched away from her touch and walk toward the window, watching without seeing the fist rays of dawn peeking from behind the Hokage's monument.

"What would you know?" he said bitterly. "I was furious; I said things to him…horrible things…"

"I DO know what you said to him, baka." The medic nin crossed her legs. "And with the apparent volume you reached in your argument with the Kazekage last evening, I bet I'm not the only one. Be grateful that the Jounin who heard you chose to report to Tsunade and not the whole Council."

She didn't need to tell him that it wouldn't stay that way for long. News of that nature was bound to spread and reach the hairy ears of the more pestering member of the Council.

He tensed. Despite being a public character now, the idea that his life and whereabouts were also of public nature still did not sit well with him.

"Then what did you asked, if you already have read the whole fucking transcription of my evening?" He half-turned to glower at her. "Unless you were more interested in the contents of my dinner or how many times I went to the bathroom?"

She raised her chin to match his glare, not backing down. "Don't worry, I did read the part where you nearly abused the Kazekage and his pregnant sister." She saw him flinch at the memory and all trace of anger fled from his face. She did her best to bite back her own.

"What I want to know is _why_, Naruto? Why did you get so angry?" Then again, she did have an idea…but she needed to hear his take on it. Only then, she could see what to do about it.

She saw his figure slump slightly. "Gaara…he likes guys, Sakura-chan."

The medic-nin raised her brows in surprise. She had read the report of their fight, so Gaara liking men _that way_ was not a surprise…but she had not expected Naruto to admit he was bothered by that.

"And it annoys you because…?" Unwillingly to her a bit of coldness had crept in her tone.

"Well, for starters, because he fucking didn't tell me!"

"Maybe," she retorted with evident sarcasm "he was afraid you'll blow a fuse and start calling him a whore in the middle of the street?"

"Oh yeah," he grinned, no _showed his teeth at her_ "because shagging his man right in front of me was a sure way to make me rush to buy a fucking 'congratulations' card?"

Sakura decided to drop the subject. For a moment, she had felt a definite spike of that old chakra, a chakra that smelled –but not with the nose- of reddish, of copper, of zoo and unclean cages, the chakra of Kyuubi…and Naruto's teeth had seemed _damn long_ in the dim morning light.

"And?" she asked. He looked at her. Thank god his eyes were blue. "You said 'for starters'" she added, a bit hastily.

He glowered at the carpet on his feet. "And he likes guys." He turned his back on her.

She gritted her teeth. "So you already told."

"You don't understand! He likes boys, not girls!"

"Narutooo…" she growled. She considered punching him in the face again. It would not make him more coherent, but it would help a great deal with her frustration.

"Augh!" he began to tug at his hair, aggravated by his own lack of communication skills. "It's just, I never thought he would like someone that way, you see? He never seemed to show an interest in anyone, before…so I thought, so I thought…"

He slightly touched the bruises on his throat. Right now he looked young, like a sheepish academy student caught skipping classes.

"I thought I was the- one of his most precious, most important people. Like he's mine. Best, best friend and all and…well, I thought that maybe, one day, he'd find a girl in Suna, but that wouldn't matter so much because…"

The sheepish young boy was rapidly aging before Sakura's eyes, leaving in his place a bitter young man who had been born with so little things he could called his own that he was reduced to clutch possessively to the ones he was afraid to loose, be it his first friend's acknowledgement or his best friend's heart.

"Because…well, even if she is his sweetheart and all, there is stuff he won't be able to tell her 'cuz she won't be a jinchuuriki and won't be able to understand, but mostly, because she'll be a girl and you can't really discuss interesting stuff with them…"

Sakura had to blink at this because really, had the moron forgot that he was currently sharing his deeper thoughts to a bloody _woman_? Part of her mind had the time to wonder if that was the reason why the Hokage went through women like one went through used handkerchiefs. If he really had that opinion of the female part of the population, and never searched to build something deeper, it was no wonder none held his interest for long. But she did not interrupt; she wanted to hear Naruto 'til the end of his speech.

"But then, if he likes guys…I guess, I'm not special anymore, aren't I? As for our bond… Gaara's not even a jinchuuriki any longer…There will be another guy he'll share a deep bond with, another one to which he'll spill his guts too –not that he's doing that much with me, mind- and… and he won't need me anymore."

His voice had cracked a bit at the end, and Sakura had to fight the impulse to go to him and take him in her arms. But she couldn't now, not before she reached a decision. She was pretty sure that Naruto had not realized the extreme ambiguity of his words. He thought that his reaction had been based on his fear of losing a friend, but Sakura could see the swirling mass of feelings under what was certainly a truth-if only partial; feelings waiting to be acknowledged.

But should those emotions be acknowledged? Was that prudent? When the Godaime had handed her the written transcription of the fight that had occurred between Naruto and Gaara, her analytical mind – probably overall less sharp than Shikamaru's, but probably more acute on that sentiment stuff- had immediately started to draw hypothesis: reasons and consequences. She had not been far from the hook, but there were a lot of imponderables, mainly Gaara's part.

As a friend, she wanted him to look deeper into himself, and see the exact nature of what he felt for Gaara. Then confront those feelings with the redhead's, and see where it went from there.

As a member of the Council however…she could hear Tsunade's voice:

"_Keep the brat in check, Sakura. Whatever you decide, remember the world's peaceful for now, and that's mainly because Suna and Konoha move as one. We shouldn't break that harmony now…"_

The placid and unrevealing face of the Kazekage swam a moment to the surface of her mind. He loved Naruto, of that she was sure: but as a friend? Or something more?

She thought of Naruto, and how Ino complained about how she always had to completely re-organize the Hokage's planning to squeeze as many free-time bits with the Kazekage whenever the two had an opportunity to meet, and how Naruto's sunny disposition was then at its most radiant.

She thought of how fiery the Hokage's temper could be, of how reserved the Kazekage could be, of the distance between Suna and Konoha, and how Naruto had never had a stable relationship before.

She thought of duty, peace, and her village.

And how they should prevail.

"Sakura?" Naruto was looking at her with sad, uncertain eyes. She smiled at him.

"Well, you certainly gave me something to think about." She walked until she was side-to-side with him, and placed one arm around his shoulders.

"You were a total ass," she said gently. Naruto seemed to deflate even more. "But I think that if you excuse yourself enough, and show the appropriate amount of remorse, the Kazekage will forgive you eventually."

Naruto seemed to light up at her words. "Really? You think so?"

"Yes, but…" she raised one finger. "You'll have to grovel."

He blinked. She sighed.

"That's part of showing the appropriate amount of remorse, idiot."

"And how do I do that?"

"You can try to act very sorrowful… "She looked up to his waned eyes. "Never mind, just walk around with that very same face, it should do the trick. Be very polite to Gaara, don't start to get angry at him…"

Naruto shook his head forcefully, as if afraid of that very thought.

"…and when he'll finally talk to you if _he_'s growing angry and if _he_'s yelling at you, you just suck it up, okay? Don't talk back, don't try to excuse yourself, you _shut up_ and let him talk, all right? And don't forget to give him proper apologies."

Naruto fidgeted a bit with the hem of his robes. "What should I say, as an apology, Sakura-chan?"

"You…" Here, she hesitated one last time, her conscience still not at peace with her decision to deliberately steer him away from potential trouble. She let go of him and crossed her arms.

"You can tell him what you said to me…that you were surprised because you didn't know of his preferences and a bit hurt because he hasn't confided in you and all that made you react violently. Tell him that you're sorry that he believed he couldn't trust you with that information, but that you're his friend and will forever be if he's willing to forgive you."

There, better leave the whole jealousy that Naruto felt apart from this. Too unclear and unpredictable. Konoha and Suna's alliance first.

The Hokage groaned and put his face in his hands.

"I'm going to screw up, Sakura-chan! He'll look at me with his evil eyes and my tongue's gonna be all tied up and I'm going to forget everything..."

"How about you write it in a letter? It's not likely that he's going to talk to you just yet, anyway, and with that it'll get the main message across." Then, to really tie the knot, "Do you want me to help you write it?"

He looked at her with such gratefulness in his eyes that her heart clenched a bit at the sight.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan."

She looked away, through the window and toward the Hokage Monument where the stone face of her shishou –not showing the traces of age and worry like the real one had, that morning- was looking back at her.

"Don't mention it."

TBC

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**Don't hesitate to tell me what you think of this chapter, concrits and all!**


	4. Hiding

**Everyone! My deepest apologies for the lateness of this chapter. I've started working last January and boy, did it lessen my time and motivation to write... ;_; But I'm better!**

**And now, it's time to say goodbye to cardcaptor-eternity who did so many beta work for me since a year. Thanks for all the good work, Pamy-chou!**

**But let's cheer for Prism0467, who not only beta'ed this chapter but took the time to –patiently- explain me functions of Word I didn't even know exist. THANKS!**

**And finally... time for the story.**

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Chapter 4: Hiding

"You listen, _Brat_," Tsunade began. "Just because you managed to control yourself those last days does not mean the Kazekage will pardon the offence just like that: What have you tried to do to make amends?"

Naruto gritted his teeth. Right now, he knew he should be grateful for Tsunade. She had, after all, managed to hide his previous fuck-up from the whole Council up to today. But it did not mean that he appreciated having his relationsp with Gaara discussed by a bunch of old geezers who seemed adamant in adding to it a whole political twist. As far as he was concerned none of the incident was related to Konoha and Suna, it was just linked to the fact that he was a temperamental moron and that Gaara was in full snit mode.

He let his gaze brush over the lined faces of the Council members –lined save for Shizune and Sakura, though the latter did not look at her best today- remembering that he had it easy. With Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura in the Council, numbers were fairly often on his side. Yet, it could happen that the Godaime was not giving him her full confidence... Like, right now.

"I told you, baa-chan, I presented him formal apologies in written form several times, which I always personally delivered." And better kept hidden the exact number of times, too. He'd rather have that kind of humiliation left private.

"Yet he always refused to talk to you." One breezy voice stated, and Naruto turned exasperated eyes toward a man whose flimsy beard did little to hide the arrogant sneer behind it.

"Well, he's being a bit difficult." He said, as if Gaara was a stubborn kid and not the leader of a Nation with a military force rivalling his own. "But I assure you _one more time_ that this is a personal matter and has nothing to do with Konoha and Suna's alliance."

Shizune coughed, her way to focus people's attention on her. "We're keeping a close watch on the major dignitaries, including the leader of the other Shinobi Nations; no one seems to want to make a move." Naruto nodded glumly. One of the 'dignitaries' he had requested to put under strict surveillance was the blue-haired guy who was so chummy with Gaara. So far, they had not tried to see each other. He did not know if he ought to feel relieved, irritated or slightly suspicious.

"No one wants to make a move _yet_. I believe that they're just waiting to see how far our esteemed Hokage-sama will indeed not move from personal to politics", The same old man retorted. A member of the Nara Clan, Naruto recalled. Funny, that family was known to produce geniuses, surely survival instincts has to do with intelligence?

"And better for the Kazekage to follow that lead too, or else Iwa is in a far better position than we", he added snidely. Naruto's gaze, which had up to that moment been wandering in an annoyed fashion, stilled and set with predator-like quality upon the old man's head.

'_Yeah, probably a Nara through alliance.'_ He thought, feeling hot-sick warmth spreading around his seal. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura and Tsunade shift, and he took a big breath. The warmth receded.

If he had to be honest with himself, all those meddlers were _right_ to meddle. He just hated it because they said stuff that he had not necessarily wanted to hear. Like how the Kazekage had refused to see him ever since their fight. Had not written back to him. Had not, in fact, reacted at all to his letters, or to any other attempts he had made to reach him.

All traces of remaining warmth vanished from his body, replaced by a cold, dreading feeling when the thought he had tried to push away all these days crept back to him; that maybe it was the end, maybe Gaara really hated him now and would only tolerate his presence for the sake of Sunagakure, and he was going to lose his best friend one more time, only this time it was even worse because…

Tsunade may have sensed his growing distress; she leaned slightly toward him, moving for the kill:

"Hokage-sama..." Damn she was serious now. "Use your position as the head of that conference to ask formally for a meeting with the Kazekage... he won't be able to refuse then. And we need to know where we stand with Suna, for real." There was a whisper of agreement from the council members around her, so her next words were drowned by the noise "and so do you."

Naruto shook his head, aghast. "I can't do that, Baa-chan! You don't know Gaara... if I force his hand, and like that, in public, he'll feel humiliated and questioned in his authority, he'll never forgive me for that!"

Tsunade stood up, signalling the end of the meeting. "Then I suggest that you quickly try to find a way to establish contact before tomorrow's last meeting, then", She said loftily. "In the meantime, I wish you a good evening, Hokage-sama."

For a moment, it looked like a couple of Council members had a say about leaving, but the Godaime had still enough of an authority that they followed her. Naruto tried to catch Sakura's eye, but she hurriedly left, not glancing back at him.

Naruto was left alone, with nothing to do but study the best way to have his best friend talk to him again.

_NaruGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaOMGGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaNaru_

Matsuri was Gaara-sama's first –and so far, only- student, and was one of the very few she could call a friend. She had also been for twenty wonderful months following a much messed-up proposal unwisely mixing battle puppets and fireworks, his sister-in-law. Those close ties, her devotion to her brother by marriage and her very unique abilities had made her a good candidate for being the Kazekage's assistant.

But Matsuri was also very, very kind-hearted and patient -which incidentally were also qualities demanded to deal with the Suna leader on a day-to-day basis. She was not prone to rancour and that was why she felt a good deal of pity these days, when she caught sight of the dejected figure of the Hokage.

Little resentment she held toward him was mostly due to the fact that the offence had been made to Gaara-sama. Her forgiving nature would have cave in far earlier if it had concerned her.

But now, after days of the same routine, she really hope that her Kazekage would find some mercy for his best friend, and soon.

Three times in the day, Naruto would try to come and see Gaara: once in the morning before the meetings started, once at lunch and the last one in the evening, at sunset. She would see him –at least the first two times, when she was on guard duty- walk the corridor toward the Kazekage's suite and where she was standing guard, always alone and without his Kage robes. His face would be set in determination, the expression blurring a little to let see the hope shining in him as he came level to her and asked, his voice slightly rough, if Gaara was available for a visit.

And then she would see his face crumble in disappointment when she would lie to him and told the tale Gaara had asked her to repeat over and over, without changing a word; that Kazekage-sama was absent and no, he couldn't wait for him inside, she didn't know when he'd be back.

And meanwhile, they would both be able to feel the redhead's chakra pulsating from within his room. Gaara had not even tried to make his lie believable; it was just another way to blatantly show the other man how low he had fallen on the list of the Kazekage's priorities.

Naruto would nod once, his lips tight, and would reach into his pocket for a square envelope, always of the same kind, and request that she leave it with Gaara. She would say yes, and he would smile, a frail thing really, and thank her.

This time they met at the end of the corridor. Temari-san had come to see her little brother, and afterwards Gaara had asked her to walk his sister home. Of course, he had not asked aloud: if Temari so much as *_suspected_* them of being solicitous, she would skin them both alive. But she could read in his body language that he wanted her to, and so she had. It was as she was running back to her post that she crossed paths with Naruto.

She had burbled on her little speech as usual, and he had given her the envelope, as usual.

However as she watched him go, his shoulders slumped and the very image of what Gaara was keeping all bottled up not ten feet away, she resolved to try harder to make Gaara-sama read what was inside that darn missive.

She headed back to the Kazekage's quarters, nodding to the Jounin guarding the door. She paused on the threshold and feeling suddenly very relieved that she had intercepted the Hokage before he made it that far, she pushed the door open.

"Gaara-sama." She bowed deeply before his leader, seated at his desk and poring over some scrolls. When they were alone, she would forego the bow and the honorific, as requested, but…

"Good evening, Sasagawa-san."

The blue-haired man smiled brightly at her. He was lounging in one of the armchairs, a block of stone in his hands and apparently completely at ease and relaxed. But she could feel the tension in his shoulders, and around the edges of his smile.

"Matsuri! I was waiting for you; I've got something… here."

He handed her the chunk of stone. Surprised, she realised it was not a block, but a sculpted head and –she blushed a bit- it was her! Flustered, she began to babble a stream of thanks but he waved them away. He put his finger on the stone lips of the statue, and the young woman nearly dropped it when she felt the tingle and realised what he was doing, yet she managed to keep a steady face.

"I had trouble with the smile," he admitted. "I couldn't make it as warm as the original."

Matsuri flushed an even deeper shade of pink. She thought that the statue was beautiful –far more than she was! She was about to show her gratitude again, when Gaara's voice interrupted her.

"You're right, it can't compare to the model. But it is a good work, though I doubt it will make Kankuro hate your guts any less." He added with a bit of smile, his eyes on the statue. Matsuri's gratitude for the Iwa Jounin increased tenfold: it was the first smile she had seen on his lips in days.

"Thank you, Gaara." She then bowed deeply. "And you, Sasagawa-san."

"Matsuri was about to make us all tea, would you like some?" The Kazekage added.

The Jounin glanced at Matsuri and the Hokage's envelope that was still in her hand. The shadow of his cold, calculating uncle seemed to pass in his eyes, and he answered with a slight grin.

"Sorry, but I'll pass for this time. Duty calls." His smile faltered a bit and a myriad of emotions seemed to pass on his amiable face as he looked at the redhead hunched over a scroll. "Goodbye, Gaara."

The Kazekage seemed to pause for a second, and nodded. "Goodbye."

Matsuri had to fight to *not* lower her gaze from Nobuo's face; she felt like she was intruding on a private moment. But it seemed that even the most complicated stories could be resolved in less than two seconds, because the Iwa Jounin did not wait that amount of time before departing.

The kunoichi kept all her observations and questions for later. Since Gaara requested, there would be tea first. The first cup was for the guard at the door; that was not something the Kazekage had specifically asked of her, but he always brought her one himself when she was on watch duty and she did not want the rest of his shinobi to start mumbling about favouritism.

The sentinel sent her a hopeful look, obviously curious to know why Sasagawa-san had been there, but Matsuri answered this with a flat, hard gaze that immediately made him re-think the idea of gossiping about his Kazekage. He accepted the drink with stuttering thanks, and the kunoichi smiled inwardly; one couldn't stay in contact with Gaara without picking up a bit –oh well, a lot- about intimidation techniques.

She then took the tray to his temporary office. He had let go of his paperwork and reclined in his chair, a faraway look in his eyes. She poured the cups, took a seat across his desk and began:

"I brought Temari-san home, don't worry, you're not suspected of trying to coddle her." An unmistakable look of relief crossed the Kazekage's face. "She thought I wanted to speak about…" there, she felt her cheeks heat up, as she remembered who she was talking to. "Children… and Kankuro."

Rather, how to use the second to produce the first, but she wasn't about to tell Gaara *that*. Matsuri had not wanted to talk about it either, but Temari really found it highly suspicious that after one long year-and-a-half of marriage her sister-in-law had not even started on her first pregnancy. She seemed to believe that Kankuro was somewhat at fault, and had showered his poor spouse with questions so precise it had very nearly traumatized her.

Fortunately, those kinds of considerations went a mile above Gaara's head. Ignoring her blush, he just nodded and took a sip of his tea. He then looked at her and asked:

"And what about Nobuo?"

Matsuri frowned slightly, now all back to business.

Many had wondered, especially amongst the foreign dignitaries, why the Kazekage had chosen her as his first assistant. She was of no influential family that could have been placated by offering this kind of desk job to one of its less gifted element. And as a mid-range fighter specialized in using illusions through genjutsu, she had not the profile of a close-security guard.

Most people had subsequently assumed that she was there as a favour as an old student or as the fiancée, then wife of the Kazekage's brother. The Suna shinobi privately added that she was one of few patient and tough enough to support working closely with their well-loved but frightening, stress-inducing and work-a-holic insomniac leader.

Those were all valid points, but the real reason was elsewhere. Just like Ino Yamanaka, Matsuri was good in knowing what went into people minds. But unlike the Hokage's assistant, whose ability was linked to a rare bloodline, Matsuri's was not even produced by the use of a jutsu. When Ino entered individuals' mind, Matsuri was just reading them through their bodies.

Whenever people were nervous, happy, excited, it tended to be echoed by their stance and movements. All shinobi knew that, of course, and did their best to suppress their most obvious habits… which was as easy as keeping water in hands: just like water, feelings were bound to leak. The Suna kunoichi was just particularly gifted in the interpretation of those leaks.

Back to the days when the Kazekage had been the Jiinchuriki Sabaku no Gaara, reformed bloodthirsty monster and Suna's most powerful weapon, that ability had made her see the boy who wanted to help and pass the knowledge that had helped him survive: weapons, be it the ones made in steel or the ones made of flesh like himself, were not so fearful and loathsome when used to protect loved ones.

And Matsuri was good enough of an empath that she could read in one glance posture, context, while taking in account what was said to make the translation to her emotionally stunted boss. It might have been an innate disposition linked to her caring mind; it might have been a side effect to being an orphan at a young age and having to quickly read the mood of the adults in charge of her. Either way, it worked well, and enabled her to complement nicely the Kazekage's own lacks in that regard.

"He was…" Matsuri started, then paused, embarrassed. Some of it was linked with her boss' personal life, she was sure if it. "…nervous, that's the first I picked up. A bit frightened, really. Hopeful, too. And sad."

The Kazekage's face was attentive. He followed their routine and asked; "Your conclusions?"

"He was there to breach an uncomfortable subject, that's why he was nervous… and he was not frightened of you so most probably, it is related to what you discussed."

Gaara's face was impassive. "Correct."

Matsuri did not mind his shortness. If explanations were to come it would only be once there was nothing left to tell.

"The hopefulness… I felt it when he saw the envelope I had in my hand, and then, well, Nobuo-san tricked me and entered my mind when he and I both touched the statue- and I'm sorry about it, Gaara-sama, I didn't know how to block him."

For once, the Kazekage interrupted her: "There is no way. If you want to guard your thoughts from him for sure, I can only advise that you keep clear of anything stone. Don't feel bad, I fell for it as well."

Matsuri smiled in thanks, and paused. She was entering delicate lands, trying to re-create what had been discussed between her boss and his guest. Of course, it would be darn easier if Gaara just told her the whole discussion, but easy was not the goal. It was to do from scratch the whole thing from Nobuo's point of view, and as such highlight what Gaara might have missed.

"What he read from my mind is, I believe, no, I know…" she hesitated. "Is how I want you to read the Hokage's letter. And try to make you, hum, consider his excuse." In front of her, the Kazekage's face hasn't moved a muscle.

"So his hope stemmed from his expectations that I would convince you of that. This led me to believe that he earlier tried to talk you into giving a chance to the Hokage as well. And, he must not have succeeded, hence the fright he felt, not of you, but of the consequences of this refusal."

"Right." Said her Kage, a small smile on his lips. Not his good smile, either.

"And he was sad because you decided to break things with him." The smile slipped off. Matsuri frowned, and amended her words. "It was a nostalgic kind of sadness, not a broken-hearted one."

"Correct, once again." Gaara sighed, rubbing his eyes. Not a gesture of fatigue, but of wariness. He spoke again.

"Very well. I believe that will be all, Matsuri. And thank you."

'_Isn't that a nice dismissal?_' Matsuri idly touched the ring on her right hand, the one that linked her to Kankuro and his family, even the brooding, power-ridden, redheaded kind. And that ring _did_ give her the right to nag, if not with the same confidence as Temari, at least with some of the same legitimate concern.

"As for Naruto-san," she continued. "He appeared to be genuinely remorseful and quite desperate to see you. I felt that he is sincere in his desire to make amends and…"

"…And I don't recall asking your opinion on _that_ matter, Matsuri." The redhead shook his head, looking more annoyed than angry, and spoke again.

"So you too, have fallen to the Hokage's charms? Temari wanted to tear him a new one only a couple of days ago, and now she is urging me to talk to him again." He narrowed his eyes.

'_Hurt'_ Matsuri picked on, almost absent-mindedly.

"She's afraid for Suna and Konoha's alliances. And you, when I always had the feeling you and him never got along together, are taking his defence? Or do you also think that I will put my personal grievances before my duties as a Kage?"

Matsuri frowned. _She_ never had anything against the Hokage; it was the other way around. She remembered her first meetings with the Leaf Leader and how she had noticed that when he was naturally nice with everybody around him, he had _acted_ naturally nice around her, while his eyes held a thin sheen of calculating coldness. She had pondered a lot about it, but the context enabling her to connect the dots was missing until she officially dated Kankuro and _then_, the Hokage started being genuinely nice with her.

Thinking back, she really thought she had been slow on that one; after all, she had known nearly right from the start that her Gaara-sensei was nearly head over heels with that Naruto Uzumaki person who made him talk about 'protecting your loved ones' with such a far-away look on his face.

"I'd never think that about you, Gaara! And Temari wouldn't either!" she protested. "We just…I just know that his yearning to set things right between you is real, and…" she eyed the envelope again. "I don't understand why you don't even try to hear him out."

Gaara followed her eyes to where she put the small square of paper. He picked it up, a humourless smile baring his teeth.

"That?" He said. "There's no need to read it. He did not write a single word."

The kunoichi blinked, astounded. "But… if you haven't read any of those, how can you tell?"

Gaara snorted. "I know Naruto. He's a man of action and loathes the written part of the job of a Kage, and that to the point that he tried to make a dozen of clones to help him with his paperwork once."

'_Happy, Nostalgic'_, Matsuri decided, seeing the pale lips, earlier stretched in a sardonic grin, soften into something genuine.

"But of course, they were clones of _himself_. So when he got back to his office, he found most of his scrolls turned in the all the origami forms possible or in the best case while the other had explicit doodles in the margin. And the clones had decided to have lunch at Ichiraku Ramen. On his tab, of course. I think the face he made when he realised that is one of my best memories."

The smile slipped. "Uzumaki Naruto would rather think of blasting the wall away to talk to me than writing his thoughts on a bit of paper. I don't know who put that idea in his head, but I'm not going to read in case that person had decided to mingle with his words and thoughts as well."

'_Angry, now...but also, relieved?'_

"Then… why not let him talk to you then?"

"Because," he snarled "I don't feel very generous. Let him write his lines 'till his hand fall, the bastard. He hates that, and I'm glad."

'_Lie._'

"But you're going to talk to him, aren't you?" Matsuri carefully said. "The meetings are officially over now and we're leaving in two days… not to return for four more months. You can't ignore him for so long."

His body stilled. _'Defensive'._

"Damn it all… Nobuo told me that already!" Gaara bit his lip. _'Frightened?'_

"I'll hear him eventually, Matsuri. I told you I won't do anything to endanger the relations between Suna and Konoha. But for now I'm..."

_...too afraid..._

"... Waiting for both of us to cool down."

'_Fear, definitely. Pain… growing. Oh, Gaara…'_ The kunoichi stared sadly at her boss, who was studiously avoiding her gaze. She knew Kankuro entrusted her with the care of his sibling, but right now there was nothing she could do to ease the distress oozing from him.

Talking could help people, but she doubted it was possible with her verbally-challenged boss. Yet she tried.

"Why are you afraid of talking to him, Gaara? It is obvious he wishes to apologize and he's not trying to bring more ill on you."

The redhead sighed. "It feels… still a bit early." He said, keeping his face resolutely away from his too-keen assistant. As if that was enough, when she had learned to read him like the back of her hand, and when his whole body whispered to her…

'_He can hurt me without even trying.'_

Matsuri closed her eyes, trying to stop for a moment that barrage of sadness, but now it had spread and clogged the very air she breathed. When she opened them again, Gaara's green eyes were back on her, and since they had always been the most expressive of his features, she felt her throat tighten at what she could see in them.

"Matsuri… please. I wish to be alone, now."

She nodded, and picked up the tea set. At the door she paused to look back at him. Outside the windows, the sky has clouded over and the shadows in the room had lengthened, engulfing the Kazekage in a pool of darkness, dulling the vibrant colour of his hair and the angles of his body. From where she was Matsuri could no longer read the expression of his visage or his bearing. But she no longer needed those clues to figure him out.

Lonely.

Lost.

She closed the door, leaving him in the darkness of his room, and his thoughts.

_NaruGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaOMGGaaNaruGaaNaruGaaNaru_

He waited, for what felt like an eternity, in the dark.

He hated that. The dark, and to wait. He had no trouble keeping his heartbeat steady and his chakra under control while breaking past the guards, but now that he had nothing to do but think of what he was *_about_* to do… he could feel it speeding up, menacing the hold he had on his chakra, as in the sombre and still athmosphere, consequences and repercussions suddenly were not just words, and if he fucked up…

To put it simply, he was a nervous wreck.

Finally, one very recognizable chakra drew nearer, followed closely by another –not Matsuri's. He heard voices and checked his henge one last time before the door opened.

Gaara strolled in his bedroom, a Chuunin aide in tow. The young woman deposited various papers and scrolls on a small desk near the door, bowed deeply and left.

The Kazekage lit one small lamp, not powerful enough to threaten Naruto's henge, took off his white and blue robes and started working on the buttons of his shirt.

The Hokage fretted slightly; he couldn't wait longer or else letting his presence known when Gaara was shirtless was going to be awkward, but he didn't feel ready and...

It happened too quickly for the eye. One moment he was watching his friend fingering the hem of his shirt, and the next he was trying to dodge a barrage of blows delivered by human and sand fists. He managed to block one of Gaara's hands by engulfing it in his own larger one, but a sand vine snaked round to tug at his ankle. Slightly unbalanced, he blocked the redhead's leg movement with his knee, but was unable to avoid or stop his left hand in which a kunai –jeez, but he was indeed pissed at him- had suddenly popped into existence. When he finally caught the other man's wrist, the cool blade was already pressing at his throat, signalling his defeat.

"If you have one reason that might prevent me from slicing you open, by all means let's hear it, Uzumaki."

And Naruto smiled. Sakura's advice rang through his mind: _"be humble, be sorrowful", _and he knew that the face he was showing his friend was anything but that, yet he couldn't help it.

Gaara was watching him with a scowl, but from him this was a look he was used to, and it felt wonderful, after all those days of being offered nothing but the blank, guarded expression of a mere visiting dignitary. And, he was close –physically close- to Gaara again, and that too felt amazing, so he squeezed lightly the slender wrist and it pressed tighter against him because he had _missed _the other man, damnit, and now that he was there... what could he do but be happy and giddy and lean toward the redhead to whisper, his voice richer by the affection lacing it:

"Because it would be too slow a death to prevent me from blowing your stubborn head across the room, sand freak."

Gaara's pinched expression appeared to soften, lips loosening and becoming fuller while his eyes shone briefly at him in a way he both recognized and cherished.

Naruto's happiness soared as the huge weight he had carried on his heart lifted to be replaced by the urge to take the other man in his arms in a relieved bear-hug.

The redhead might have sensed this; he scowled and stalked away from the Hokage. Sitting on a small couch, he crossed his arms and delivered the full force of his angry glare to the blond.

But Naruto was not as peeved by it as he might have been just minutes earlier; he had seen, in that moment when Gaara has not been able to hide himself, that he was forgiven.

Everything was going to be alright. He couldn't have screwed things further and yet his best friend did not hate him for that. He took a deep breath, willing his strangely erratic heartbeat to calm down now.

He approached the Kazekage with caution. The little lamp projected a yellowish light that turned a golden hue on Gaara's skin, but failed to soften his features.

Naruto turned his eyes downward, away from the still intimidating face of his friend, trying to find an opening for his apologies, only to have his thoughts scatter abruptly when his gaze landed on his friend's chest –and Gaara had left his shirt unbuttoned.

The unexpected sight of this smooth chest and slightly toned abs sent his mind on a standstill, until the Kazekage's voice cut through his haze.

"Well? Did you want anything?"

His companion blinked and said the first thing that came to him.

"I'm sorry."

O-kay. So _not _the beginning he had envisioned, and if Gaara's derisive snort was any indication, even he had expected him to do better.

Naruto straightened. "I'm sorry." He repeated his voice firmly. He took a determined step forward and went to sit on the small couch next his friend. He flinched a bit inside when the Kazekage scooted away from him, materializing the wedge the last days had bought between them.

"Gaara... I truly am sorry. I was an ass there, and all the things I said to you... well, I'm dying inside, just to know I talked to you in such a way and... I didn't believe a word of it either and..."

He stopped upon realizing that he sounded gibberish. He absent-mindedly searched for his friend's hand, needing the contact to convey his remorse and sorrow or maybe to rebuild the connection between them, he did not even know. But as soon as his fingers touched the redhead's, the other snatched them away, and the sudden tightness in his throat did not help to ease his speech.

"Please, Gaara." He pleaded, leaning as much as he dared toward his friend. "I guess I was... really angry at you for not telling me about... your love life. It came as huge shock and I did not take it well, seeing that there wasn't a thing I hid from you about mine..."

Gaara 'Hn-ed' at this, a short and scathing sound. "From me or anyone else, really", came the derisive comment.

"Well, yeah." Naruto said, now ashamed for some reason. His eyes fell one more time on his friend's bare chest, but this time Gaara caught his stare; sitting a bit straighter, he quickly started to close his shirt, face a bit embarrassed and missing a few buttons in his haste.

That gesture of modesty strangely ignited the first spark of anger in the Hokage's heart. He bit his lips and turned his face away, willing his blood to cool down. Ever since Gaara had set foot in his suite, he had felt jumpy and restless, like his own skin was too tight for him and with too many nerve endings, a sensation that was only growing; there was no need to add fuel to the fire.

"You don't get it, do you?" This was from Gaara. The young man had crossed his arms and was looking away, eyes shadowed by his blood-red bangs.

"Get what?" Naruto murmured, and at this Gaara turned back his head.

"The impact your words had on me. What *_you_* are to me. Naruto... why do you think I became the Kazekage?"

"To prove your worth, so people would acknowledge you, and need you, through that." The Hokage answered without hesitation.

"No. I did it because _you_ thought that being Hokage was the way to make other people need you, and acknowledge you, thus validating your existence. I only took your word for it, because I wanted to change the path that led me to loneliness and, well, madness. "

Gaara smiled bittersweetly. "But the truth is, I had no clue. After the Chuunin exams, I analysed every little encounter we had, every word you said, trying to understand how you did it –trying to understand _you_. And then every time I had to face an important decision, everytime I was hesitant, do you know what I was asking myself?"

The Hokage shook his head.

"What would Naruto do?"

Naruto flushed and squirmed a bit on his seat. Braggart he may act as, but the small, neglected child in him still had a hard time believing that anyone could take his words so seriously, that he mattered enough to leave such an impact on someone's life.

Gaara continued, merciless in his praise.

"You were my role model. Of course, I've grown a bit on my own and now I understand that I can't be totally like you in every aspect but," yet again that small, sad smile. "I still look up to your words."

Naruto bit his lip. All his previous relief had dissipated, and it seemed like his heart had turned to lead in his chest. He was starting to see where all of this was leading.

"And now try to understand how I felt, when that man, whom I still admire so much, whom I always felt was the one who could understand me the most, suddenly yelled at me and insulted me and treated me like the biggest freak in the universe?"

Naruto dropped his head in his hand, in a fruitless attempt to shut out the world and the words that were drilling a hole through his heart. He felt lower than a worm: Gaara had bared his heart to him, in a calm voice that bore no trace of anger and in a way that was worse than when he had shouted at him, eyes ablaze with fury. There was no anger, no vindicative wrath, and no other emotion left for him to hide behind, nothing to shelter him from the painful truth.

He waited a moment for the burning feeling in the back of his throat and behind his eyelids to recede before lowering his hands. Gaara was watching him intently, green irises glinting in the dim light.

"I..." Naruto cleared his throat, but his voice was still hoarse when he started again. "Gaara... what I said to you back then, it was just me being angry and hurt and wanting you to hurt too... I swear to the Gods, I never, ever thought less of you because of ... that, and I never, ever thought of stopping being your friend. You are precious to me, Gaara."

The other smiled, and and if there was still a hint of sadness lingering in the curve of his mouth, warmth was lightening his eyes. "Then, it's enough for me. You don't have to apologize any further."

"No!" Naruto leaned forward and grabbed the Kazekage's hand. He felt the redhead tug feebly but he abandonned when the Hokage clasped both his hands over his before bringing it to his chest. The movement brought them close; very close, which was what Naruto wanted. He wanted Gaara to look at him and see the absolute truth of his words.

"Gaara..." his friend's eyes were on him, a bit wary. "Right now, what you said... I need to tell you something too, before I lose my guts."

He took a deep, calming breath, thinking that it was maybe not a bright idea to have the Kazekage's hand so close to his chest, where his heart was beating madly. He chased the thought away. He needed to concentrate and find the good words, for once.

"I want you to understand how much you mean to me."

Gaara became as still as the statues adorning his office in Suna, save for his lips that had fallen slightly open as a tiny bit of air rushed in.

"Ever since I met you, back when I was an even bigger idiot and you were that scary pint of a ninja, ready to crush the whole world, I felt that there was... something, some link between us. And then you tried to finish Lee off, and you told me your story and I understood _why_. We were the same; and when you tried to kill Sakura-chan and... Even then, I couldn't hate you. I don't think I could ever do that, because..."

He lowered his gaze from Gaara's intense one. It fell on their joined hands and he blinked; he had not realised he had laced his fingers with the Kazekage's.

"... Our paths are the same. We knew the same pain, born from loneliness and prejudice, and we had the same joy too, because we sought to ease them in a similar way. And, you know, just the fact that somewhere, out there, there's a person who can understand you completely, someone you can share everything with, it's... it's probably the greatest joy life can bring to anyone and I _have_ that, thanks to you."

He squeezed lightly the limp hand in his. He smiled a bit and raised his eyes back to Gaara's face. His friend had still not moved an inch.

"Even if sometimes I suddenly realise that you're stuck there on your huge sandpit miles away from me and then I'd think, shit, I _miss_ him, and it's painful but a good kind of pain because I know that I'm going to see you eventually, and that's enough to make me happy. No, happier than I was, 'cause I get to think about you."

At this Naruto faltered, a bit embarrassed and cheeks flaring in response as he fighted the desire to look away, but he continued.

"And I'd think about you and all those little things that are you. The way you keep on smartassing about some things like you swallowed the whole freakin' encyclopedia, the way you can get everyone to do what you want without using threats, and how you act all cool and collected but bitch like a girl when it rains..."

He smiled widely at his friend. Gaara blinked a couple of times, not unlike someone dazzled by a too-bright sun.

"...and yeah, I guess, that's why I like you too, not only because all those things we have in common. On your own, you're smart, you're funny –if evil- and with just enough quirks that you're not completely insufferable. And all of that makes you my most precious person here. I love you, Gaara."

The redhead's eyes widened slightly. Naruto grinned his usual, happy smile and finished. "Just like the brother I never had."

There was a moment of silence. Naruto could feel his own heartbeat, still powerful but somewhat calmed down by the speech he had given. He had said what he needed to say, and for one short moment, he felt a bit more at peace.

But...

...the silence stretched. The Hokage felt prinpickles of fear as his friend sat unmoving and unresponsive before him. Gaara's face was blank and not so much unreadable as empty. The small hand in his was cool again, but seemed to weight more.

Then Gaara blinked, and said, in a small voice: "Brother?" Naruto nodded hesitantly, and then suddenly there was no more Gaara or cool hands to hold onto.

Naruto blinked toward the place were the Kazekage was, already a few feet from him. His back was turned, and his right hand was now trailing on a nearby desk, as if searching for support.

"Well," Gaara's voice was low, and slightly quavering. "We're growing slightly sentimental tonight, aren't we Naruto?" He cleared his throat. "But thanks."

The Hokage gave his friend –who couldn't see it, since he was not looking at him- a tight smile. He did _not_ know what to feel. He hadn't know what to expect either when he had decided to respond to Gaara's words –to show him how much of a special place he had in his heart too- but it certainly was not more _distance_.

Gaara finally turned and offered him a smile that was probably as joyous as the one Naruto had given just now.

"It has been a rough day, and evening. I'd like to call it short for tonight. I'll try to see you tomorrow, before we're done with the packing, right?"

Naruto rose from the couch. He was very tempted to seize the offer; his day too had been long, he was hoping that after a night of sleep things would stop being so _weird_ between him and Gaara. But most of all, he was afraid to do or say something that would irredeemably damage the too-fragile truce between them.

But what made him decide against that was an even more frightening possiblility. That maybe Gaara was not done being strange. That this unbelievable estrangement was there to stay. That there would be, from now on, always a distance, which would grow to be the normal state of things as time went by without Naruto having the balls to confront it, till they would downgrade from being best friends to simple acquaintances.

He stood there as a cold, desperate feeling seeped inside him. Gaara was still facing away, his back slightly curved, the bumps of vertaebre clearly visible under his thin shirt. Looking at him, so familiar yet so completely uncomprehensible now, a wave of pure longing went through him. Without thinking, he came close to his friend in two steps and put his hand on his shoulder.

Gaara whipped round, visibly startled, but Naruto didn't release the hold he had of him. Blue eyes searched through the depth of green ones, intent on deciphering them before they had the time to hide again.

"I won't go," he said. "Before you tell me what's wrong. And I _know_ there's something wrong."

The Kazekage was pushing at his chest but just like earlier, his movement seemed to lack strength. His eyes were wide and afraid but locked with Naruto's, apparently unable to look away. He was shaking his head as if in denial, though the Hokage wasn't sure it was in answer to his question.

"Is it me? Is it something I said?"

No, no, the redhead feebly shook and quivering, pale lips moved to whisper "It's not you."

It was the fear that he could see in the green eyes that set Naruto on edge. It shouldn't be there when Gaara was looking at him. _It shouldn't fucking be there!_

"The hell it isn't! You dismiss me like I'm nothing, you won't talk to me, won't bloody answer me and you look at me like I'm about to eat you! What the fuck did I do to you, sand freak?"

Gaara's face twisted and he finally found the strength to send a good shove, making the Hokage tumble a few steps backward. "Apart from being a clingy jerk and a nosy idiot? Nothing at all, Uzumaki!"

The sting of rejection, coupled with too many brush offs from the Kazekage each time he had tried to enable some physical contact that night, made Naruto snarl back: "So what? Now that you have a nice fuck buddy, I'm not allowed to touch and talk to you anymore? Should I have gone for your pants first?"

Dread engulfed him as soon as the words left his lips to reverberate loudly in the air and his brain. He immediately started talking again, hoping to erase their frightening echo.

"Gaara, I'm sorry, I was out of line again, but I'm... I'm... I really don't know what to tell you anymore."

The Kazekage was very still save for his hands that had balled into fists, clenching and unclenching at his sides. His eyes were no longer afraid or lifeless and burned with such intensity that Naruto shrank a little inside.

"If you can't open your mouth without insulting me, I recommend that you fucking abstain, Naruto." His body had started trembling again, out of anger or something else. He turned his face away from the Hokage's: "And to think, it's not even more when you're a jerk that you hurt me the more." His mouth twisted in a bitter line.

Naruto pressed the heel of his palms against his eyes, willing the incomprehension to end, willing it_ all_ to end and things to go back the way they were; and most of all willing his best friend back at his side again and giving that quiet, heartening smile at him.

_It's not you_, Gaara had said. It didn't make sense.

"Fuck, Gaara, why? Why does everything I do, or say, make you angry? Why do I feel like you hate my guts? Is that revenge?" He advanced on his friend.

The fear and helplessness were back in Gaara's eyes. His hands flew up to each sides of the desk he was leaning on, like startled birds. In two steps Naruto was back at his side and using all the power he near-consciously knew he had on the other man to say,

"Tell me." He looked at the green irises, the pale skin and trembling mouth and whispered, his tone half a demand, half an endearment, "Gaara".

"I can't." The words were rushed, the eyes imploring. Leave it, they said. Please, don't force me.

"Why?" Naruto managed to squeeze all his pain and disbelief in one word. "Don't you trust me?"

"Because I can't!" Gaara exploded suddenly. "Even Temari, and Matsuri, I never was able to tell them even if I know they _know_!" Darkened eyelids tightened briefly, before all the tension seemed to fall out of him. Green irises were now sad and defeated.

"You have no idea..." Gaara continued in a rough, low voice while his hands trailed up the Hokage's chest to fist his shirt. "How much I don't hate you... and how little I trust _myself_."

"All these years..." Gaara's face was coming closer to his despite their difference in height, as if he was rising on his toes. Naruto paid it no mind, enthralled as he was by his gaze, so intense and full of longing. He raised hands that felt like they were eons away to rest them on his friend's.

"I've been silent for so long... and my village needs it, and now the world is looking at us, but you're here demanding and I can't find the strength to pretend anymore." Gaara was so close, his breath was tickling Naruto's chin. His hands flattened once more and traveled up to the Hokage's face, caressing his cheeks, ghosting over the whisker marks and his blond hair.

Naruto could not think. His nose was too full of Gaara's spicy scent, his sight overloaded with the burning eyes and the fiery hair, and his being ruled by the warm breath and body leaning closer and closer.

His body recognized the gesture, and positioned itself. His hands, apparently still having a mind of their own, started moving up to his friend's shoulders.

But Gaara was stepping back, fingers trailing on his skin as if reluctant to leave. Hesitant digits brushed his lips before closing in a fist and falling back at his side. His face was pale, the yellow shade from the lamp providing the only colour on his skin and the only light in his eyes.

"All these years... and even for this, I don't have any strength left."

With those parting words, the Kazekage disappeared in a swirl of sand, leaving Naruto frozen in the middle of the room, his hands still raised in an aborted motion that could have been meant either to reject, or to embrace.

TBC

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**The biggest obstacle is out of the way… or is it, really ?**

**Warning : next chapter, the rating will finally up to M . Yes, there's going to be a sex scene. But don't expect... well, don't expect. (but yes, it's going to be a NaruGaa sex scene)**

**Next!**** Inner Obstacle, chapter 5!**

**(Yes, I'm sorry for all of you who were expecting a chapter for 'Lessons in Seduction', this story is on hold until I'm done with IO. Only two chapters to go and I swear I'm not going to make you wait as long)**

**9,000 words. Quite a bit of effort and time were spent on this chapter. don't forget to REVIEW! That's the only thing I ask for in exchange.**


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